


Their Second Chance

by Slytherin_Princess10



Series: The Past Comes Home [2]
Category: Walking Dead, Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-22
Updated: 2015-02-27
Packaged: 2018-01-16 15:39:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 31,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1352785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slytherin_Princess10/pseuds/Slytherin_Princess10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to The Past Comes Home! Beth is once again back home in Georgia (for good) and is trying to win Daryl's forgiveness for everything that she has done. She's not sure how she's going to do it, but she knows that Daryl holds her heart so she is going to do everything in her power to make sure they get their second chance. (AU NO ZOMBIES! Bethyl, BethXDaryl)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Ta-da! Sequel is up! Have the first few chapters planned out so updates should be fairly frequent. Hope you guys enjoy this one!**

**If you’re new, this is a sequel to my story titled ‘The Past Comes Home’ and I strongly recommend reading that before this so you can understand what is going on.**

**Thanks again to Riain who beta’d this and who will be helping me out a ton with planning out this story!**

Beth pulled up to her parent’s farm again, this time with all her belongings in tow. Her mother appeared looking quite confused as she was hopping down from her large rental truck. Beth pulled a suitcase from the back and walked over to her mom, a huge grin plastered on her face.

“Back so soon Bethy?”

“I’m home mama.” Annette’s small smile widened as she began to understand the true meaning of Beth’s words. She wasn’t just visiting this time, she had come back for good. Annette wrapped an arm around Beth’s shoulders and ushered her into the house. She took the suitcase and set it next to the door.

“I just made a fresh batch of sweet tea, come have some with me.” Beth nodded, knowing her mother really just wanted to talk with her. She did have some explaining to do.

Once they were seated at the dining table with their ice cold drinks, Annette began the conversation. “You know I’m so happy to have you back here Bethy, but I am a little bit confused. Last I heard from your father you were on a plane back to New York. I was a little hurt you didn’t bother saying goodbye.”

Beth nodded, knowing she would be a little angry if she were in her mother’s shoes. “I did go back to New York. I didn’t say goodbye because the plan always was to come back here. I broke things off with Zach.”

Annette gasped. “Oh dear! Did something happen? He seemed like such a gentleman.”

“It wasn’t anything Zach did…it was me. I can’t marry someone I don’t love.” The wounds in her heart from her breakup were still fresh, making her feel guilty all over again.

Annette hummed, “Yes, that wouldn’t be a very nice thing to do. May I ask what changed? It just seemed like everything was fine between you two.”

Beth started picking at her cuticles again, letting her mother know she was nervous. “Daryl…”

Annette smiled again at hearing his name. “What about Daryl?”

“Being back here was so hard for me, for many reasons, but I realized one of those reasons was that…I still loved him, and I guess that I just can’t run away from him again.”

“You know, that boy was a wreck when you left, tore him up something awful.” Annette knew just the words to cement her daughter’s decision. Annette had seen the pain Daryl went through without Beth around, it tore at the mother’s heartstrings.

Beth’s ears perked up at this. She knew Daryl must have been a mess when she abandoned him, but her mother seemed to know a bit more than she let on. She raised an eyebrow as she looked her mother in the eye.

Annette chuckled. “You didn’t think I would just disown that sweet young man because you guys were having some trouble, did you?”

“No, I suppose not…I guess I just didn’t think about it at all.” It was true, Beth really didn’t ever think about how her parents would react to Daryl after she had left. They didn’t know the full story of what had happened.

“He comes over usually every week for dinner, helps your father out with some things on the farm. It really only stopped when you came back with Zach. Can’t blame him though, I imagine it must have been pretty painful.”

Beth bit her lip and nodded once again. “I imagine so too.” Her mother just looked at her and sighed. “How do I fix this? I want to be with him, but do you really think he could forgive me?”

“You won’t know until you talk to him,” the corners of her mother’s mouth turned up into a tiny smirk “but something tells me that Daryl has a soft spot for you.”

They sat together and finished their drinks while talking about lighter things, such as what Beth was thinking of doing now that she was back down here or if she would get her own place to stay. Her parents weren’t going to force her to go out and get a job, as long as she helped around the farm, but they both knew that Beth couldn’t just sit at home all day for long.

On her way up to her bedroom, she passed by her father’s ‘office’ and he had a smug smile on his face and just nodded at her as she passed. Beth couldn’t help but giggle at her dad – he was all knowing.

Much like last time she returned home, Beth flopped down onto her bed and pulled out her phone to text Maggie.

_You free tonight?_

Beth fiddled her thumbs for the couple minutes it took Maggie to text her back. She laughed as she read the reply.

_You’re back AGAIN?! And here I thought you just ditched us. ;) Come over later, we can have a sleepover, with junk food….lots of junk food._

Beth got up and pulled her suitcase up onto her bed, thinking about how she’d need help getting her other belongings from the truck, and began to unpack. It was weird for her because it made it feel even more real. Unpacking meant you were planning on staying a while, and while that may be Beth’s plan, it didn’t make her any less anxious about the things to come.

It was seven in the evening after Beth had showered, changed, and began the short journey to Maggie’s house. She pulled up in front of her sister’s modest two bedroom home that she shared with her husband, Glenn.

She didn’t bother knocking, instead opting to just walk right in since the door was unlocked. Maggie was sitting on the couch, flipping through the channels on television, and didn’t seem to notice that her sister was now present. Beth quietly closed the door before creeping up behind the couch.

“Boo!” Maggie jumped about three feet up into the air, the remote control flying across the room in the process. Beth fell to floor because she ended up laughing so hard. Clutching her stomach, she looked up at her sister who was breathing heavily and glaring at Beth.

“Good lord Beth! That was just plain mean!”

Beth just continued to laugh at her sister and soon Maggie was chuckling along as well.

Once they were calmed down enough, they sat next to each other on the couch, both of them getting comfortable and pulling their legs up underneath them.

“So where’s Glenn off to tonight?” Beth tugged a throw pillow from behind her and hugged it to her chest.

“He’s working down at that new pizza place ‘bout twenty minutes from here. Trying to save up some more money.” Beth raised her eyebrows at her sister’s words.

“Are you guys having money problems or something?”

Maggie shook her head, eyes sparkling. “We’re going to try and have a baby.”

Beth was silent for a few seconds as she processed what Maggie had said, and then she squealed, reaching over to pull her sister into a hug. “Oh Maggie that’s so wonderful!”

Maggie tried to reply but she was currently being smothered by Beth’s hair in her face. Realizing this, Beth released her death grip. “Thanks Beth…I guess I was kinda nervous about tellin’ you. Didn’t know how you’d react after everything with Andy.”

Beth’s face dropped but she quickly plastered another grin on her face. “Nonsense! This is great news. I’m really happy for you guys.” She put her hand on her sister’s shoulder and squeezed.

“It might take a while apparently…’cause I’ve been on my birth control for so long, but I’ve been off it for two months now, so it could happen anytime.”

Beth just nodded, trying to keep the smile on her face. She was happy for her sister, truly, but it did hurt thinking about her sister having a baby when Beth herself had one and had lost him. She was thankful when Maggie changed the topic.

“So, tell me all about what happened with Zach. Your text didn’t exactly explain much when you were at the airport.”

Beth explained to her sister how the meeting with her now ex-fiancé’ had gone, every heart wrenching detail. Maggie nodded along and listened carefully, feeling her sister’s pain as she talked about the break up. Maggie was glad that Beth hadn’t decided to marry Zach as anyone could see she was obviously very much still in love with Daryl. As the thought of him came into her mind, she questioned Beth about him.

“What are you going to do about Daryl?” Maggie prodded her sister carefully, knowing her emotions were raw.

Beth shrugged, “Honestly, I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. He probably hates me after all I’ve done, especially the other day with the divorce papers. He still doesn’t know I didn’t sign them.”

“Maybe you should just pretend like you’re starting all over. Go track him down at the bar and send him a drink or something…it sounds very romantic comedy.” Maggie was always the one to plot and plan, sometimes getting Beth into trouble.

Beth giggled at her sister’s suggestion but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it wasn’t such a horrible idea.

“Would I just look stupid doin’ that though? Seems kinda desperate…” Beth huffed at the sheer insanity of her sister’s evil plan, would it work?

“Beth you _are_ desperate.” Maggie rolled her eyes, pinning Beth with her gaze.

Maggie’s words were true and Beth knew it. They spent the rest of the night planning out what Beth would do to win Daryl back, all while stuffing their faces with pizza (delivered by Glenn) and cookies. Beth fell asleep on the couch, not even bothering to move to the bed in their guest room, and quickly fell into what had to be the most peaceful sleep she had in months. Perhaps it was because now that she had a plan, she felt like she was closer to getting Daryl back.

**Chapter 2 to come soon…with everyone’s favorite Dixon in it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay here is chapter 2! Daryl will be making his first appearance of the story.**

**Thanks again to Riain, who spends so much time working with me and going through these chapters after I write them and adds things to make it a million times better! She is truly amazing! And if you aren’t currently reading her stories, what the hell is wrong with you? DO IT NOW!**

It was five days after she had spent the night with Maggie. She had wanted to wait for a Friday so she knew Daryl would be out. So here she was on April 11th, 2014, standing in front of her mirror, critiquing every aspect of her current outfit. Maggie had taken her to the big shopping mall a few towns over a couple of days ago and helped Beth pick out an outfit. Beth didn’t remember it looking so… _slutty_ in the store.

Maggie had assured her over and over again that she looked good but Beth was still a woman so no matter how many times she had been told she looked good, she would still find flaws. The dark wash denim jeans looked as if they had been painted on. Beth was skinny but she felt like she was trying to re-cork a champagne bottle as she wrestled her round ass into them. Her blank tank top was loose, the fabric on her chest slung so low that parts of her red pushup bra were peeking out of the top. She didn’t feel confident nor comfortable with her boobs pushed up and together on display.

She sighed as she leaned forward to closer inspect her makeup. The words that came to mind were not flattering… _trashy…streetwalker…desperate._ Beth sighed, knowing that she was indeed desperate. She tried to focus on Maggie’s words in her mind. _‘It’s not bad Beth! You’re just not used to wearing make-up.”_ It was true, Beth was more of a mascara and chapstick kind of girl. Looking in the mirror now she actually laughed at the thought of just wearing some mascara. Her eyes were done up with a thick line of black eyeliner, her lashes thicker than normal due to the extra coats of the black sludge. Her skin looked like porcelain when compared to the bright red lipstick that was slathered on her lips. All in all she probably didn’t look half bad, but it just seemed like _too much_ for Beth.

She turned away and took a step, almost falling flat on her face. She cursed the tall red heels, feeling like she was Bambi trying to walk for the first time. Another thing that Beth was not accustomed to was wearing any kind of high heel. Growing up on a farm did not allow for such stylish things and even when she had moved to New York she often stuck to flats.

She took a big breath in and held it there, trying to calm herself down. _‘I can do this.’_ It was like she was mentally preparing for battle, which in a way she was. She released the air out in a huff and swiped her black clutch off her bed and exited the room. She took the stairs slowly, hand gripping the rail so she didn’t tumble and break her damn neck. Luckily it was well past ten at night, meaning her parents were already in bed. This was fortunate because she knew her parents would have words about her attire.

She grabbed the keys to her rental, thinking about how she needed to get a car of her own soon because she didn’t have the money to keep it for much longer. Making her way outside she knew she should have grabbed a jacket because as soon as her naked arms hit the night air, goose bumps had risen all over her skin.

Managing to climb into the truck in her ridiculous shoes, she cranked the engine and swung around to make her way to the bar. Beth hoped that Daryl would be there and that she didn’t do herself up like this all for nothing.

Pulling into one of the open spots at the end of the parking lot, Beth shut off the truck but made no move to exit. Her hands gripped the wheel so hard that her knuckles were turning white. She really wished that she had Maggie here with her _now_ for another pep talk. She wasn’t sure how Daryl would react to all of this and she couldn’t really blame him if he wanted nothing to do with her but she hoped and prayed that he would accept her with loving open arms. The thought made her chuckle as the image of Beth and Daryl running into each other’s arms in slow motion on a beach somewhere entered her mind. The small laugh was enough to calm her frazzled nerves and give her the courage to head inside.

She tried to hold her head up as she walked inside, trying to appear confident. It seemed to be working because instead of having to push her way through the people like normal, it seemed like the bar patrons were just clearing out of her path. It never ceased to amaze her how such a small town would have such a lively nightlife. She walked up to the end of the bar and managed to grab a stool from someone who had just vacated it. The man on her left was openly staring at her cleavage, obviously he liked the shirt Maggie had picked out for her. She turned her body slightly to the right, hopefully the gentleman would get the hint that she wasn’t interested. She ordered a vodka with cranberry juice but made sure to take small sips. She wanted to be loose but not so drunk that she couldn’t remember what she wanted to say. After half her drink was gone, she brushed a chunk of her now curly hair behind her ear and turned to look around the dimly lit room, trying to see if she could spot Daryl. Her eyes scanned the crowd for his face and right about when she was going to call it quits and accept that he was obviously not there, she saw him. He was standing around with a couple of guys she didn’t recognize and he seemed to be having a good time. She saw him laugh at something one of the other men must have said as she turned back to the bar and signaled the bartender over.

“Can I send a drink over to that man over there?” She turned around and pointed at him.

The bartender seemed to know who she was talking about as he replied. “Daryl? Yeah, sure, whatcha want me to send?”

Beth thought for a moment, a finger lightly tapping her chin. Her finger straightened up as she spoke. “Jack and coke, please.”

He nodded at her. “I’ll get right on it.” With that, he smiled at her and went to go make up the cocktail.

Beth closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth. In just a moment, Daryl would know who had sent the drink over to him and there was no turning back after that.

She saw the bartender had finished making the beverage and was about to make his way over to Daryl. She turned around to look for him and when she spotted him, her heart dropped, any confidence she had was now shattered.

There hanging all over Daryl, looking even trashier than Beth did, was some short thin woman with obviously bleached blonde hair and the shortest skirt Beth had ever seen. She shot off the bar stool, feeling tears starting to pool in her eyes. She knew this was a stupid idea but she just _had_ to listen to Maggie. She pulled out some cash from her clutch and threw it on the bar before bolting towards the door, hoping she didn’t throw up all over some unsuspecting customer.

The cool air that once made her shiver was now welcomed by her as she immediately relaxed when she felt the chill on her skin.

Meanwhile, Daryl looked towards the door just in time to see a flash of blonde hair disappear through it. His stomach clenched as it reminded him of Beth. He would know her light silky locks anywhere, always so different from the other girls around here with the fake fried shit they tried to pass off as hair. He knew he was just seeing shit though because he had overheard in town that Beth had once again gone back to New York. He figured it would happen with nothing left here for her, he knew she really only came back to get those damn papers signed. His fingers tightened into a fist at the thought of his _divorce._

Suddenly the bartender, Jake, was in front of him holding a drink. He passed it to Daryl who was pretty confused. He tried to hand it back. “I didn’t order this.”

Jake put his hands up, palms facing Daryl. “Compliments of the lady at the bar.”

Daryl’s eyes snapped to the people sitting on the barstools and he scanned through their faces. Unless Jake was talking about that overweight woman who had to be in her early fifties then Daryl wasn’t sure who he was talking about. “Who?”

Jake turned his head to look over his shoulder, not seeing the young girl anywhere in sight. He looked to Daryl again and shrugged. “She’s gone now. Was a little blonde one, real pretty. Just told me to send a drink your way.”

Daryl thought on it for a second…surely it couldn’t have been Beth. Not willing to risk it, he shoved the drink into one of his friend’s hand, shrugging the clingy woman off of his arm, and pushed past Jake to make his way out of the bar.

He saw her at the other end of the parking lot, standing outside of a new truck trying to turn the key in the door, not even realizing it had one of those fancy alarm key fobs to unlock it with. Daryl started jogging towards her. “Beth!”

Her head snapped up and when her eyes met his, he could see the few tears that had fallen, her cheeks now glistening in the moonlight. She dropped her hand, her keys falling to the dirt lot.

“What the fuck are ya doin’ here Beth?” He asked as he stopped a couple feet away from her and put his hands on his hips.

“I…uh…” Shit, had she forgotten how to speak?

“Heard you was back up north already. Didn’t take long for you to run on back.” Daryl’s snide comment wasn’t lost on Beth, he was pissed.

“No, Daryl…I--“ Beth stammered, the words caught in her throat.

Daryl cut her off, not even letting her try to explain.

“I get it though. Got what ya wanted from me. Spend the night in my bed then want me to sign those fuckin’ papers so you could go on home to that fuckin’ Yankee.” He wasn’t yelling, and even though his voice was deadly calm, Beth could tell he was pissed. Daryl was hurt and when he felt pain, he got angry. However, these statements were starting to get Beth fired up. How dare he not even let her get a word in?

“Are you kidding me? Didn’t seem to take you long either! I saw that _woman_ hanging all over you! I bet you had someone new in _your_ bed that night!” Her voice kept rising the longer she went on, her own anger surging to the front.

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, little girl.” He pointed an accusing finger right in her face.

She smacked his hand away, yelling back at him. “YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT!”

Daryl stepped back from her while she screamed in his face. “Fuckin’ forget this shit, I ain’t fightin’ with you no more. We’re _divorced_ , remember? I can fuck whoever the hell I want, when I want. I don’t have to answer to you.”

Beth felt as though she had been slapped. It would have been the most opportune time to tell Daryl that they weren’t actually divorced, but all she was hearing was that he wanted to go off and have sex with other women. She didn’t expect him to mope around forever but hearing this just plain hurt. It didn’t feel nice to get a taste of her own medicine.

She swiped at the tears on her face angrily, and bent over to pick up the keys, almost falling and landing on her head because of those damn shoes. Daryl reached out to steady her but she put her hands up. “ _DON’T_ touch me.” Daryl retracted his hands and shoved them in his pockets and watched as she climbed up into the truck and drove off.

‘ _Fuck’_ Daryl thought to himself, trying to understand what the hell had just transpired between them in the dirt lot of Jake’s Roadhouse.

Daryl kind of felt like a dick, knowing there was obviously a reason that she had come here. She sent him a drink for fuck’s sake. He walked back towards the entrance to the bar, hoping his friends would sense the change in mood and that the cheap looking woman would leave him the fuck alone. No matter what Daryl might have implied, right now he didn’t want anyone in his bed.

As he ordered a shot, he couldn’t help but think about how good Beth’s ass looked in those jeans.

**Dun dun dun… You didn’t think it would just immediately be smooth sailing, did you? Don’t worry, this story will be a lot lighter than the first one so rest assured that they will eventually reconcile!**

**Reviews make chapters come a whole lot faster…Just sayin’.**


	3. Chapter 3

**So this chapter is more of a filler, but it had to be done to set up for later events. I have already started writing chapter 4 though so that will be up shortly!**

**Also, I have started really mapping out the story and I have a total of 19 chapters planned out and that's just the beginning so I hope you guys are in it for the long haul!**

 

It was the Thursday after Beth had the run in with Daryl at Jake's and she decided she was no longer going to mope around the house. It had hurt her to know that she really did have no claim over Daryl. She had fucked him over, time and time again, and expected just to show up and pretend like everything was okay. That didn't happen. Instead they ended up arguing in the parking lot of the rowdy bar and Beth had once again stormed off, leaving Daryl in her rear view mirror. She saw him go back inside the bar and wondered if he was going to pick up that cheap blonde that had been hanging all over him.

Today was a new day for Beth though. She wasn't going to lay around in bed feeling sorry for herself. She was going to go out to find a job so she could finally start earning some money again. She didn't have a whole lot saved up, mostly just enough to buy a cheap car, and even then she wasn't ready to return her rental just yet. She needed the truck for something first.

She got up at seven in the morning, probably the earliest she had been up in quite a while, and showered. She got dressed in a black pencil skirt, a white button up shirt, and black shoes with a small heel. The outfit was probably a little too formal for going around the small town to ask about jobs, but it was the only thing Beth owned that didn't have holes or expose her arms and legs completely. She put her hair in a tight ponytail and applied some mascara before deciding she looked acceptable enough to go downstairs.

Walking into the dining room, Beth could smell the things her mother was cooking in the kitchen and only then did she realize how hungry she really was.

"Smells good, mama! Whatcha cookin'?" Beth sat down at the table, knowing her mother would bring her a plate.

Her mother turned around to see her daughter sitting at the old table. "Pancakes and bacon."

Beth's mouth watered at the thought. "Extra bacon please." Her mother just smiled at her.

"You look mighty fancy today, Bethy. Where is it you're planning on going?" Her mother was finishing up the pancakes and moved on to making Beth a plate.

"Gotta go find some sort of job before I totally run out of money." Beth sighed, not really looking forward to the day but knowing it had to be done.

"Good plan." Her mother nodded and carried the plate over and set it down in front of her daughter.

Beth didn't wait even a second before she dug into the meal, feeling her stomach growl at her. She felt kind of like a pig but she didn't care because of how hungry she was. Her mother looked over to see Beth's mouth stuffed with the fluffy pancakes and she just laughed while her daughter blushed.

Finishing her food, she put her plate in the sink and rinsed it off. She kissed her mother on the cheek. "Thanks mom, that was really good."

Annette's eyes twinkled as she spoke. "Really? I couldn't tell."

Beth gave an embarrassed chuckle before grabbing her truck keys, her purse and exiting the house, yelling a goodbye to her mom.

"Good luck!" Her mother just shook her head, still smiling at her daughter's behavior. She was just glad that she was leaving the house today. Beth needed to get out and do something before she drove everyone in the house crazy as much as they loved her.

The first place Beth went to was the diner, hoping she'd be able to get hired again after so many years. It didn't pan out as well as she had hoped.

"Please Janice, you must have something for me." Beth felt defeated, knowing this was her best lead. However, the motherly owner didn't have any openings.

"I just don't have the money to hire someone else, Beth. I'm sorry, but if we do end up needing someone, you'll be the first person I call." She put a hand on Beth's shoulder, her eyes truly apologetic.

"I get it...thanks anyways." Beth sighed. She was extremely disappointed but knew Janice was telling the truth.

"I hope you find somethin', hun." Janice pulled the young girl in for a quick hug before Beth left the establishment.

She spent the rest of the day driving around to every place she could think of but it seemed no one in the small town had a need for a girl who had nothing but waitress experience. Beth was now fully discouraged, worried she'd have to get a job in one of the neighboring towns knowing that would be a huge waste of money spent on gas.

It was after three in the afternoon when Beth was making her way back to her house and saw the sign in the dingy window by chance. 'Help wanted' it had read in orange block letters. She sighed and pulled into the parking lot of Jake's Roadhouse for the second time in less than a week.

The parking lot was empty, except for a couple cars and she just hoped that the owner was there and that he'd take a chance on hiring her. She had the waitressing experience but Beth hadn't really ever frequented bars, let alone worked in one.

She stumbled across the dirt lot in her heels and pushed open the door. The few customers that were most likely regulars all looked up at her from drowning their sorrows in the middle of the day and raised their brows. She certainly didn't look like she belonged.

Smoothing down her shirt, now even more self-conscious, she walked up to the bar and saw it was the same man who had helped her out the other night. Beth cleared her throat and he turned around and couldn't help but give a single huff of breath at her attire in amusement.

"Can I help you miss?" The bartender did his best to keep the roughness out of his voice, a young girl like her didn't need to be gruffed at like the normal drunks that came through the door.

"Uh...yeah. I'm Beth. I saw the help wanted sign in the window and was wondering if you needed a waitress." It was when she spoke that Jake recognized her as the girl from the other night that had got Dixon all up in arms.

"You got any experience?" He set down the glass he had been wiping, eyeing Beth critically.

"Just some restaurants, no bars, but how different could it really be?" Beth gave a nervous chuckle, wishing he'd take a chance on her, desperately hoping she didn't get turned away yet again.

Jake seemed to think on it for a moment, scrutinizing her with his gaze. Beth fidgeted under his stare. She visibly relaxed when he spoke again. "What the hell? Yer cute enough, customers will like you just fine in my opinion. Can ya start tonight?"

Beth's eyes widened, thinking to herself that the situation went better than she thought it would. She stuttered out a response. "Uh..y-yeah! What time?"

"Be back here at 6 and I'll show ya the ropes before we get busy. And uh...I'd recommend a different choice in clothes." He gestured to her outfit, not the kind of clothes she would want destroyed in Jake's place.

Beth blushed and nodded, "Yeah, I'll do that."

The bartender stuck his hand out for her to shake. "Welcome aboard Beth, I'm Jake."

"Nice to meet you Jake. I'll see you tonight!" She shook his hand and then exited, ready to make her way home to prepare for her first night on the job.

Back at her parent's house, Beth was digging through her clothing trying to decide what to wear. She knew she was going to wear her favorite pair of cut off shorts because they were really comfortable and knew Jake wouldn't mind the show of skin.

Currently her problem was deciding on a shirt, which made Beth realized that she truly did own too many. She finally decided on a long sleeved black shirt so she wouldn't feel totally naked. Shoes were the easiest part, deciding on a worn in pair of brown cowboy boots that came up mid-calf.

She looked every bit country when she was dressed for the night. She spritzed on some perfume and grabbed her bag off her bed. Beth said goodbye to her parents as she walked out the door, not wanting to stop and chat and end up being late for her first night.

When she arrived back at the bar, there were more people present than earlier but it still wasn't exactly crowded. Jake showed her where everything was and explained to her that he would be making the drinks and she would be delivering them to the bar patrons. Beth was overwhelmed and felt like she should be taking notes but Jake decided to just throw her straight into things.

As the night went on, more people showed up but Beth hung in there. Overall she felt like she had done a good job, sans spilling a couple drinks, luckily not actually on anyone. She got some tips, and a whole lot of compliments. Some dirtier than others.

Around two in the morning, Jake closed up shop, finally managing to coax the last drunk standing out of the bar. Beth sat exhausted and sweating on a bar stool. He walked over to her and she looked up at him. "How'd I do?"

"Not too bad, Blondie. I think I'll keep ya around." Jake smirked at her, knowing she did do a pretty good job for a first timer.

Beth yawned. "Gotta get used to this schedule I guess."

Jake nodded. "It'll take some time. Why don't you take the weekend off and come back on Monday so you can get some more practice in before the real busy nights come?"

Beth agreed, thankful that she wouldn't be working this weekend because she knew it would ruin the plans she had for Daryl. "Thanks Jake, I just want you to know I really appreciate all this."

Jake gently shoved her shoulder. "It ain't nothin'. Now git outta here so I can go home!"

Beth laughed and hopped off the stool, grabbed her bag from behind the counter and made her way out to the dark lot. She couldn't wait to get home to get some sleep before she had to pay her husband a visit tomorrow. It still felt kind of strange calling Daryl her husband after so many years apart and the recent turn of events.

Beth glanced at the clock on her dashboard and realized it was actually later today she would go see Daryl. She groaned as she thought about how her days and nights were going to get all sorts of mixed up now, and tried to keep her eyes open as she made her way back to the farm. She looked forward to collapsing onto her bed and sleeping for as long as possible.

**Thanks again to Riain, who might I just add again is so amazing and wonderful. LOVE YOU!**


	4. Chapter 4

Daryl was thanking his lucky stars it was finally Friday. To say he was having a bad day would be an understatement. To start off, he woke up an hour late for work and it was then that he knew the day wouldn't go according to plan. Once he finally arrived he realized they were two people short meaning he had to pick up the slack and they were swamped. 

To make matters even worse, Daryl had been reaching inside the engine of one of the big trucks and ended up catching his arm on a piece of metal, leaving a nice sized gash about 4 inches long on his forearm. He was currently sitting in the office with a dirty rag wrapped around his arm, trying to explain to his boss that he didn't need stitches when in reality he knew he did. 

He was about to give in and head over to the hospital to get it checked out when he looked up and out the window. He saw that fucking blonde hair popping out from what he guessed was now her truck and stood up. He stormed out the door, still holding the dirty rag to his arm, blood dripping as he walked out to her. 

Beth froze as she saw Daryl's glare, knowing he was probably wondering what the hell she was doin' here. Her eyes trailed down to his bleeding appendage and she rushed forward. “Oh god, what happened?” She tried to get a look at his arm but he yanked it away.

“S'just a cut. What are you doin' here?” Daryl didn't waste any time inquiring as to why Beth would be showing up at his work of all places.

Beth stared at his arm with wide eyes before she snapped out of it and reached back into the truck to pull out a bag. “Brought you some lunch...thought we could talk about some stuff.”

“I'm workin' Beth.” Daryl's stomach was growling at him, trying to persuade him to take the meal from her. 

Beth nodded, “Yeah...looks like you need to make a run to the hospital now though. I uh...could take you if you want. Might be kind of hard to drive with that.” 

She did have a point and they both knew it. “Shit...” Daryl was reluctant, clearly not wanting to be in such an enclosed space with Beth at the moment, especially now that the blood loss was starting to get him light headed. “Fine.” With that, he went over to the passenger side of the car and yanked it open before hopping in. 

Beth was happy he had accepted but tried to play it cool knowing he really didn't have many options. She started up the car and looked over and was pleased to see that Daryl was actually trying to be polite and not bleed all over her rental, instead letting the small crimson droplets fall onto his already filthy coveralls.

“Try not to get it on the seats, it's only a rental.” That answered Daryl's question as to whether or not this was her new car. He saw her pick up the bag and pull out a sandwich, unwrapping it for him. She put it in his bad hand so his good one could hold the rag in place. “Chicken salad, mama made it for you.” Daryl's stomach growled again at the words, knowing this was his favorite and Annette knew it. 

It ended up working out pretty while, eating his sandwich with his bad hand. Bringing the sandwich to his mouth kept his arm elevated and helped stifle the blood flow. He finished the sandwich as they were pulling up to the hospital. “Tell yer mom I said thanks.” Beth nodded at him. “And uh...thanks for bringing it to me...and driving me here.” Daryl did at least know when he should be polite. 

Beth smiled at him as she shut off the car. “Not a problem.” She opened the door and Daryl gave her a confused look.

“You don't have to stay, I'll just call one of my buddies to come get me.” Beth was already out of the car by the time he finished and gave him a look as to say 'don't even try that with me'. He sighed and opened the door, exiting the vehicle.

They walked in to the small emergency department and signed in. It would be a few minutes of waiting and Beth had the sense to ask for something a little more clean to help stop the bleeding with. The receptionist came back with some paper towels for her and Beth knew it would at least do the job for a couple minutes.

She walked over to Daryl and held out her hand for his arm. He reluctantly held it out and Beth crouched down and put her hand on the bloody rag. She quickly pulled it away and pressed down with the paper towels. It was weird to Daryl that he felt comforted with her hands on him but it was also awkward so he quickly put his hand over the thin cloth and nodded at her. Beth threw the rag in the trash, knowing that it probably shouldn't be left in there but didn't really care all that much.

She sat next to him in silence until a nurse came out and called his name. Beth didn't even give him a choice of going on his own, opting to follow them back to a bed that was sectioned off by a curtain. Daryl plopped down on the bed, ready to get this over with so he could just go home.

“Alright Mr. Dixon, lets take a look.” Daryl grunted and held out his arm. The nurse slowly peeled back the paper towels and tsked. “Oh yes, you'll definitely need stitches.” Daryl had a look on his face like he wanted to say 'no shit' but opted to keep his mouth shut. “Let me just clean this and I'll send the doctor in to put in some sutures.” The nurse spoke to Beth, like Daryl wasn't even there which pissed him off to no end. He wasn't an infant and Beth wasn't his keeper. 

After she irrigated the wound, she ran and got the doctor. The older gentleman came in and greeted them before sitting down and pulling out the suture kit. He began work quickly, making small talk with both Daryl and Beth. Neither of them were really grossed out by the wound or the sewing but they both hated hospitals. The doctor quickly finished and must have noticed Beth picking at her cuticles because he looked over at her and spoke. “Oh don't worry, your husband is gonna be just fine.” Beth blushed and before she could even get a work out, Daryl decided to choose this time to speak up.

“I'm not her husband.” His voice was cold and it stabbed Beth's heart. 

The doctor apologized for his assumption, gave Daryl a prescription for antibiotics because of the dirty conditions at his work and was told he could be on his way. 

Once back in the car, Beth saw it was already after three in the afternoon. “Am I taking you home or back to work?” 

Daryl looked over at the clock. “Need to get my truck.” Beth nodded at him before starting the engine and taking off. The drive was silent, Beth still hurting from Daryl's comment about not being her husband but knowing it's what he thought was true. She wanted so badly to blurt out then that he was still in fact her husband but she had other plans.   
Arriving back at his work, Daryl was opening the door after thanking her again. As he started out of the truck, Beth caught his attention. “Daryl...” He looked back at her. “Can we talk tonight? I have a lot of stuff I need to get out.”

Daryl huffed, knowing he didn't owe her shit, but he was curious as to why she was back here again and why she had decided to show up at his work. He looked at her for a moment before giving her a single nod. Beth smiled at his response. “Okay I'll meet you at your house tonight at seven.”

Daryl nodded again and shut the door behind him. Beth watched him walk over to his truck and get in before she left back onto the road towards the farm. She had some preparations she needed to take care of to make the night perfect.


	5. Chapter 5

eth pulled up to Daryl's – and technically her house. She left the truck running as she jogged up to the door and knocked. A few seconds went by and it opened to reveal a very groggy looking Daryl. 

“Hey...did I wake you?” Beth thought she was right on time but if you were to look at Daryl you'd think she was pretty early. 

He shook his head at her, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Nah, just woke up a few minutes ago.” Daryl looked passed her and saw the truck lights on, beaming towards the front door. “You're not staying? Thought we was gonna talk.” Beth thought he might have sounded a little disappointed and it made her smile just a little bit.

“We're both leaving.” Her voice came out confident, but inside she was praying Daryl would agree. He raised an eyebrow at her but Beth wouldn't elaborate any more than she already had. Just as Daryl was about to step out and shut the door behind him, Beth spoke up again. “Grab a jacket.” This peaked Daryl's interest again.

Daryl was skeptical while riding in the passenger seat next to Beth. He could honestly say he had no idea what she was up to. His curiosity was the main reason he had accepted her 'offer', but deep down in his heart he also knew it was because he couldn't say no to this woman for long. 

Beth glanced over at Daryl, wondering what he was thinking as he hadn't said a word since he had gotten his jacket and followed her to the car. He wasn't even questioning her as to where they were going and she knew that it must be bothering him but she wasn't about to tell him. He'd figure it out soon enough.

Another ten minutes had gone by and Daryl was looking out the window and what he saw made his breath hitch a little in his throat. It was nothing, but everything at the same time. It was then that he realized he'd been on this abandoned road to nowhere before – their first date. His eyebrows furrowed together, knowing Beth had planned this for a reason. Instead of getting his questions answered, no he only had more.

Beth pulled up to the same spot that Daryl had those many years before and shut off the engine. She looked over at him, trying to gauge his reaction but it was like his face was made of stone. If only she could get a look at his eyes then maybe she would have an idea of what he was thinking. Still, Daryl wasn't saying a word.

Beth sighed and opened up her door, leaving Daryl by himself in the cab of the truck. He heard her climb into the bed but made no move to exit. She was shuffling around back there, obviously busying herself with something, leaving Daryl alone with his thoughts for a few short moments. Basically the only thing he was thinking was 'what the fuck?'. 

Beth finished her last minute preparations and hopped down from the truck bed. She opened the passenger side door and when she did, Daryl finally looked at her. His eyebrows were scrunched together but he didn't look angry, he was trying to figure out what was going on.

“What the hell are we doing here?” 

Beth shrugged her shoulders. “Seemed like a good place to talk. Come on, I want to show you something.” She gestured with her hand for him to follow her as she walked towards the back of the truck.

Daryl waited a few seconds, acting as if he wasn't going to follow her when in reality he knew he would follow her anywhere if it came down to it. He got out of the truck and saw Beth standing in the bed again, waiting on him. His eyes wandered down to her feet and saw that there in the back of the truck was a blanket spread out with a picnic basket resting on it. He looked up to Beth's eyes again and saw she looked nervous and hopeful all at the same time. He figured out that there was an actual reason why Beth brought him here – she was trying to recreate their first date.

“You tryin' to screw with my head?” Daryl watched as hurt briefly flickered across Beth's wide innocent eyes. His tone was a little harsh but it was time for her to answer his questions. “You came back here – again. We got a fuckin' divorce and you're tryin' to act like we're a couple a kids on a date or some shit. Sure seems like you're fuckin' with me.” 

Beth cringed. It wasn't the reaction she had hoped for, but again that was her fault for keeping Daryl in the dark. She sat down on the tailgate, legs swinging below her. Daryl walked over and stood in front of her, looking at her expectantly. “You best start talkin' right fuckin' now or I'm outta here.”

Her eyes were fixed on her swaying feet as she began to speak. “I'm sorry...for everything. For running, for abandoning you and our marriage, for not just letting you move on. I just...can't seem to let you go.” She sucked in a harsh breath and looked up into those steely blue eyes, being careful not to get lost in them. “I still love you.”

“Shit...” Again not the reaction she was expecting. “Why are you doing this, Beth?” It had broken his heart when she had left him for the second time after the night they shared, but Daryl knew he could go on, maybe not living the happiest life but living nonetheless. He did it before, he could do it again. But here she was, sitting in front of him confessing her love for him and that was a helluva lot more complicated. 

“I didn't sign the papers.” Daryl stepped towards her as soon as the words left her mouth. 

“What are you sayin'?” He knew what she was saying but had to hear the words come from her mouth to actually believe it. He could feel his heart beating about a million beats per second like it was ready to jump out of chest.

Beth sucked in another breath. Daryl wasn't giving much away on how he was feeling, although his tone had lightened just a little bit. “We aren't divorced...because I never signed the papers. I couldn't! I still love you and maybe it's selfish of me but I still want you – no, need you in my life.” She was almost knocked backwards as Daryl crushed his arms around her. 

Daryl couldn't believe what he was doing, his body must be running on autopilot. His arms were secured around Beth so hard that she couldn't even hug him back. He stood there for a second, breathing in the familiar scent of her hair that his face was almost buried in. He finally came to his sense and slowly let go of her and stepping back. “Sorry.” he managed to mumble out. 

Beth tried to pretend like it was no big deal, when in fact it was huge. She was trying to treat Daryl almost like she would an animal, not wanting to freak him out and scare him off, so she just nodded at him and continued on. “I did go back to New York...but only so I could talk to Zach in person and break things off. And even if you don't want to take me back, it was still the right thing to do.” She began picking at her cuticles once again and Daryl had to resist lightly smacking her hand so she would stop. “Would you...uh...ever take me back?” Words couldn't even describe how vulnerable she felt in that moment.

“Shit Beth...” Daryl was never known for his eloquence. She felt her heart drop into her stomach that was currently churning. “It's not that I don't want to...I just don't know if I can...fuck.”

He was obviously conflicted. On one hand, he wanted to grab Beth's face between his hands and kiss her senseless...on the other hand, he wanted to scream and yell at her for being so heartless and keeping all this from him. The one thing he was sure of was something he could never admit out loud – he didn't want to get hurt again. 

Beth shook her head frantically, hopping down from the tailgate to stand in front of Daryl. “No no no...don't say that...please.” She was prepared to get on her knees and beg if she had to. “Let's just...eat. Just see how it goes, ya know?” She was hopeful and didn't know if she really had a reason to be. 

Daryl let out a long sigh. He was a slave to those damn puppy dog eyes. “Yeah...okay.” Beth's tense body immediately relaxed and he watched as the million watt smile lit up her face giving him a fluttering feeling in his belly.

He pulled himself up into the back of the truck and offered Beth his hand. She took it and it made him think about how perfectly they fit together as he pulled her up. They settled down onto the blanket with Beth sitting with her legs underneath her and Daryl with his back against the side of the truck and his feet straight out in front of him. “So what we eatin'?” He tried to remain light even as the thousands of thoughts raced through his mind. He was glad he did that because he was rewarded with another one of those blinding smiles.

They sat together and ate their food mostly in silence, but as the last few bites were taken they fell into an easy conversation. Beth talked more about life in New York and how it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be, how she would always be that little farm girl at heart. She told him about her new job which made Daryl chuckle at the thought of Beth workin' in a bar. Daryl talked about his life while she had been gone, about how his dad had died and how he felt a little ashamed that he wasn't saddened by it. They avoided talking about their feelings about each other and that was okay for the time being. It was just like they were getting to know each other all over again.

Before they knew it, the sun was breaking on the horizon. Just like their first date, they had ended up talking through the whole night. Beth yawned and Daryl rubbed his eyes sleepily as they packed up the blanket and basket before they made their way back to Daryl's place.

In front of his house, Beth wanted so badly to ask about what he thought about beginning their relationship again and she couldn't hold it in. “Daryl?” He looked over at her. “So about us getting back together...” She hoped she didn't have to elaborate anymore. 

Daryl sighed. “I had a great time, Beth, I really did...but I just need sum time to think everythin' over. It's just not that simple.” 

“Alright.” She tried to not let her voice break as she said it and was minimally happy that she at least succeeded in that. She didn't want to push him anymore than she already had.

“I'll talk to ya soon, okay?” She nodded at him. She didn't bother to watch him walk inside like she normally would have. Instead, as soon as he was out of the car, she turned the truck around and made her way back to the farm to get some sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

A week had gone by and Beth still hadn't heard a word from Daryl. She was honestly trying to be patient but that didn't mean she didn't pick up her phone every ten minutes to call him. Every time her finger hovered over the call button she would talk herself down, reminding herself that Daryl needed time and the least she could do was give it to him. That didn't mean she was happy though. She'd been working every night since Monday and every time she went in to start her shift, she hoped that Daryl would show up. When he didn't, she'd feel even more let down than the day before. It was hard trying to stay optimistic.

Today was Friday and she had just arrived for her first weekend shift at Jake's. Beth was already exhausted after not working for a while and she wasn't asleep much with the constant worrying about what Daryl would eventually decide. She honestly didn't know how she was going to make it through the night. 

Jake had explained to her that Fridays and Saturdays were nothing compared to the week nights, and Beth knew that having been here herself on a weekend. She didn't feel like she had been prepared enough to handle this, especially with her current mood, but once again the bartender was throwing her into the water and expecting her to swim. Her first thought was that he was just being an ass, but thinking on it further she now preferred to think that it was because he knew she would do just fine.

It seemed to be about one hundred degrees in the little building, Beth knew she was just being dramatic. The heat radiating off the bodies was indeed stifling though, and she was thanking the lord that she wore her cut off shorts and a black wife-beater tank top along with her cowboy boots. Sure, she was getting a few more uncomfortable gazes and a whole lot more lewd comments but she just waved them off knowing the best way to handle these lonely gentlemen was act like the stares and pick up lines didn't bother you. 

A few hours had passed and it was now after ten and Beth felt like she was dead on her feet. She had been standing behind the bar chugging a bottle of water when she saw a group of unfamiliar guys come in who looked to be around her age, if not a little younger. If she had to guess then she would say they were probably some college kids from the local university. She finished off the ice cold beverage and made her way over to the booth they managed to snag. 

She forced a smile on her face as she arrived at the rowdy table, all four heads turning to look at her with appreciating eyes. “Evenin' boys, what can I get for ya?” Her voice came out far perkier than she felt.

One of the young men chuckled and leaned forward on his elbows on the table. “Well, that depends sugar. You happen to be on the menu?”

The other guys with him laughed along with him and Beth rolled her eyes, quickly losing any pep she had left in her. “Ha ha, that's funny. I've never heard that one before.” Her voice was laced with sarcasm. “Seriously, what do you guys want to drink?”

“Oh come on now sweetheart.” Beth felt her blood begin to boil, no patience left to deal with this bullshit tonight. “I could treat ya real nice.” Before Beth realized what had happened, this asshole had put his hand on her thigh and ran his fingers up, almost reaching her behind. 

Before she could jump away from the offending hand and slap the guy across the face, his hand was gone. His face was no longer flirtatious, instead it was contorted in pain. Beth glanced down at his hand and saw a larger one one wrapped around the guy's wrist. “Bet I could treat ya real nice too.” Daryl's voice was dripping with venom. 

He might have gripped the guy's limb a little too hard and he might have waited a second too long to release it but when he did the man put his hands up. “Sorry buddy, didn't know she was taken.” Daryl sneered at the term buddy. “We'll just take a pitcher.”

Beth wasn't even given the option to respond before Daryl had put his hands on her shoulders and started pushing her towards the back door, his hands never leaving her body. Daryl caught Jake's eye and saw him laughing. He gave a nod at Daryl who was basically manhandling Beth trying to get outside but Jake knew he wouldn't actually hurt her. He'd seen the whole exchange at the table and was glad that Daryl intervened and now he figured they'd have some talking to do and was generous enough to let his only waitress be dragged out of his bar, calling it a fifteen minute break.

Once successfully pushed out the back door, Beth spun around to Daryl about to ask what the hell he was doing when suddenly he had grabbed her face, a cheek in each of his calloused hands, and his lips were pressed firmly to hers. She had half a mind to push him away, not forgetting about how she hadn't heard from it at all in a week and now here he was, forcing his mouth on hers. Instead, she reached up with her small hands and tangled her fingers in his hair, her tongue begging for access into his mouth craving a taste of him.

The action must have caused Daryl to realize what he had done because he pulled back, chest heaving slightly, but his hands still hadn't left her face. Beth was looking at him through half lidded eyes, kind of dazed by the whole ordeal, and when she bit down on her lower lip, Daryl just about threw caution to the wind, wanting to throw her up against the wall and take her...he refrained with what little self control he had left.

He finally let his hands drop from the blonde's flushed face. “Shit...that ain't how I planned this goin' at all.”

Beth was saddened by losing the feeling of his cracked hands on her skin and furrowed her eyebrows, not exactly sure what he meant by his statement. 

He saw the confusion evident on her face and stumbled over his words to explain himself. “I came here to uh...you know...shit...” Beth reached up and this time she was the one grabbing his face in her hands. She did it gently and forced him to look her in eyes. He took a deep breath before continuing. “I wanted to come here to tell ya that I wanted to try this” he gestured between them “shit out...try it again.” 

Beth's smile could have lit up the sky and Daryl knew he had come to the right decision. She moved her hands from his shoulders down to his face and squeezed tight, Daryl gently placing one of his hands on her elbow, silently enjoying her closeness. “You have no idea how happy I am.” Her words muffled by his chest as the hair on her head tickled his chin. 

“Yeah I do.” Because in that moment, Daryl Dixon was finally happy again too. He didn't know what would come of their relationship this time around but he was glad that they had a relationship again.   
Beth pulled back from him and he felt alone now with the loss of her body. “I ain't leavin' til your shifts over, not with those assholes in there.” Beth rolled her eyes and suppressed a smile, thinking about how protective Daryl had always been of her.

He leaned over slightly and pressed a quick peck to her lips, before ushering her inside proclaiming to Jake that he had found his waitress slacking on the job like it had been Beth's idea to go out back and 'chat' with him.

The rest of the night was a breeze for Beth. Although fatigued, her attitude had changed for the better, the smile never leaving her face. Daryl stayed true to his word and stayed until the bar closed, walking her to her car when they were leaving. She told him she had Monday night off and he said he would call. This time, Beth knew she didn't have to worry about wondering if Daryl would ever call, waiting by the phone for a week. In fact, as soon as she got home she saw she had a text from Daryl.

Just makin' sure you got home ok.

Beth responded with a thank you, telling him that she was indeed alright, and that she was really glad he came to the bar tonight. She fell asleep with the phone in her hand and that soft little smile still on her face.


	7. Chapter 7

Beth sat across from Daryl, her mind wandering to think about the last two weeks as she ate her dinner. After that Friday at Jake's, not a day went bye that Beth didn't talk to Daryl. Some days it would just be a text message here and there, and others would be phone calls asking if they could meet up. It started out nothing more than awkward, dating her husband again, but things were starting to feel normal again. Sometimes they felt like they barely knew each other, but there were the other times, ones like when Daryl would rub that spot on her lower back, that would feel so familiar and it felt like things had never changed.

On this night, Daryl was treating Beth to dinner at The Bone Yard, a much livelier place than it's name deceives. It was a little barbeque joint that had picnic tables and sawdust on the floor, a seemingly perfect place for them to eat as it was nothing fancy and the food was delicious evidenced by the lack of conversation because the couple was too busy stuffing the food in their mouths, not minding the sauce smeared around their lips. 

This was another one of those times where everything felt familiar and comfortable. With anybody else, Beth would have been embarrassed by the mess on her face but this was Daryl. Instead of wiping the dark grease off her face after every bite, she let it build up. Daryl let her know he thought it was cute in his own way, smiling as he eyed her mouth or making lame jokes like 'you've got something right there on your face' to which Beth would play dumb and swipe at her cheek, purposely missing the mess, and asked if she had gotten it. 

By the end of the meal, Beth did decide she would put her napkin to good use and wiped her lips clean to which Daryl scoffed. He paid for the meal and they made their way outside, his hand making it's way into hers shyly somewhere between the front door and the truck. He was the perfect gentlemen when he opened the door for her, Beth giggling as she looked at him. It was then that he saw the damn sauce she missed near the corner of her mouth. If Daryl were a true gentlemen then he would have told her about it, or even wiped if off with a finger, but he had been holding back from Beth for weeks now, trying to re-familiarize himself with her again before he brought her back to his – their bed, and he had been doing well at it. Tonight, however, he didn't have the self control he normally did. Maybe it was because of that little dress she had on or the way she smelled like flowers, but Daryl would never really know what caused him to lean forward and lick the sauce off her mouth.

Beth's lips fell open to form the shape of an o , a gasp escaping with her breath. The breathless sound was enough to awaken the animal that had been residing inside Daryl. He grabbed her hips, fingers digging into the bones, and pulled her against him, and his lips claimed hers. Beth immediately kissed him back with equal intensity, hoping this night would go where she thought it would and that Daryl wouldn't back out.

Their tongues battled for what felt like hours but in reality was only a couple minutes before Daryl broke the kiss, almost picking Beth up to get her into his truck as fast as possible. As soon as she was in, he slammed the door before rushing the driver's side, hopping in and cranking the engine. 

Beth couldn't keep the smirk off her face seeing how impatient Daryl was. She put her hand on his thigh, rubbing gently in a small circle and she saw his fingers grip the wheel turning his knuckles white. She trailed her fingers up, lazily dragging a fingernail against the rough fabric of his pants until she reached her destination. She rubbed her palm over the bulge, making Daryl hiss, flexing his fingers once on the wheel giving Beth a feeling of power, knowing she had control over him at this point. 

She teased him through his pants for a few more minutes, knowing they weren't that far from his house. Daryl had to be careful not to swerve off the road when he felt her unzip his jeans, grabbing inside to pull out his now rock hard dick, her tiny fingers wrapping around it, thumb brushing over the top to swipe at the pre-cum that had pooled. Daryl bit his lip and groaned making Beth smile up at him with innocent eyes. She was anything but innocent right now.

She dragged her fist up and down, slow like torture, for a few minutes, feeling her own excitement between her thighs. Daryl saw her out of the corner of his eye, using all of his own control to try and keep his eyes on the road. She was undoing her seat belt and moving closer to him. He was about to snap at her and tell her to put the thing back on when she leaned down and took him into her mouth.

“Fuck.” was the only thing Daryl was able to get out of his mouth besides a whimpered moan that he was a little embarrassed by. Her mouth was hot, wet, and inviting. He now had the task of focusing on the road while simultaneously trying not to blow his load in her mouth already. 

By the time they pulled up to his house, not an inch of his dick was left unexplored by Beth's precise movements with her tongue. He shut off the truck and wrapped his fingers through Beth's hair and pulled her head up as she whimpered, crushing his mouth to hers for a heated kiss. His lips never left hers as he shoved his member back into his pants, not bothering with the zipper. He opened the door, pulling Beth out the driver's side behind him. She giggled at his behavior. She had missed this, much like everything else with Daryl.

They were on each other again from the moment Daryl shut and locked the door behind him. His hands grabbed at Beth's waist as he turned her and pushed her against the door and placed his lips to neck. His tongue darts out, tracing over her flesh as one of the hands on her waist moves upward to cup her breast. Beth cried out as he bit down on her neck the same time his grip tightened on her chest. She was panting now, Daryl playing her like a well tuned instrument. 

He had to have her and he didn't think that after her performance in the car that he would be able to make the short trip to the bedroom. Her sounds were egging him on as he removed himself from his pants once again and he quickly moved his hands to the backs of her thighs, hoisting her up against the door. Daryl rubbed himself against Beth's hot core, feeling the wetness of her panties against the skin of his cock as she wrapped her legs around him. 

He kept one hand on her ass, not denying his urge to squeeze, and the other moved between them. He could feel that she was already plenty ready evidenced by the wetness he felt as he pushed her underwear aside. He rubbed his dick up and down her slit, earning a moan every time he hit her clit. 

Done with the teasing, Daryl pressed into her. Beth let out a breathy moan feeling him push deep inside, stretching her. She clung to him with her nails in his back as he moved inside of her and she felt his warm breath tickling at her neck. It was nothing short of hot and everything about it was dirty for them between the biting, scratching, and curse words flying out in rough whispers.   
It didn't last long enough for Beth to get off, but Daryl didn't have any trouble finding his release as he thrusted inside of her. His fingers gripped her ass so hard that she had no doubt there would be bruises. It didn't bother her, she wanted him to mark her. He did in more than one way as he came, the warm sticky fluid filling her, as he panted her name over and over as if it was a prayer.

His forehead now rested against hers as he tried to slow his rapid heart, his hand sliding to move from her ass to her thigh as her legs dropped from him causing them to crudely separate at the hips. 

Daryl wasn't ignorant or dumb, he paid attention to things. He knew Beth hadn't been able to cum yet and he also knew he wasn't gonna let his reputation with her go to shit. A grin appeared on his face as he grabbed her by the hand and walked her to the bedroom where he laid her down and put that mouth of his to some good use until she was screaming his name.


	8. Chapter 8

Daryl had been awake for a while now but he hadn't moved yet because he was caging the beautiful blonde tightly in his arms and he was enjoying it way too much to relinquish his hold. The soft steady tempo of her breathing let him know that she was still asleep even if he couldn't see her face. His hand was pressed hard against her stomach, keeping her naked body pushed against his. His other hand was stuck underneath her but he managed to curl his arm so that he was playing with her hair. 

His mind wandered back to the night before, to the hours after he had worshiped her with his mouth. Much like their first reunion, their love making count did not stop at one.

Beth was underneath him on her stomach, her hands fisted into the sheets beneath her. Her legs were pressed together and his were on either side of her thighs. He had his hands gripping the round cheeks of her ass as his dick pushed inside of her. 

She felt impossibly tight in this position with her hips slightly elevated and Daryl was glad he had already cum once tonight otherwise he would have lost it within thirty seconds of starting with this. 

“Fuck you feel so fuckin' good.” It seemed that the more they went on, the looser Daryl's lips became. 

“Oh my God...Oh Daryl!” Beth's voice was hoarse, her throat aching as this round had started off with Beth using her mouth to bring pleasure to Daryl's body.

He loved hearing his name come out of that perfect mouth and it made him grip her that much tighter. He felt her clench around him again, almost painfully so, and that sent him over the edge. After they came together, Daryl collapsed on top of her, slightly holding himself up with his hands so he didn't smother her. They were both sweaty and trying to catch their breaths. 

He rolled over and pulled her on to his chest as her nails traced over his heart, they both soon fell fast asleep.

Daryl felt his cock twitch at the thought and that was even the end of his trip down memory lane. They had only been asleep for about an hour before Beth woke him up for round three.

Beth had crawled on top of him, awakening him with short soft kisses against his lips. His hands went to her hips and it was then that she noticed she succeeded in waking him. She pulled her head away from his face and then he saw the devilish grin, once again letting him know that this woman was not as innocent as she seemed. 

He groaned as she ground herself against him, instantly waking another certain part of his body. Insatiable was the word that came to mind as he felt her juices dripping down onto his balls. 

“Again?” It came out sounding like it would be a chore but Daryl just couldn't believe that she couldn't seem to get enough. 

She nodded biting her lip. “I need you.” She needed to feel him claim her again. She needed him to let her know that this was all real and that she was his and he was hers.

He scrunched up on the bed until he was sitting with his back against the headboard, pulling Beth with him until she was once again in position. He grabbed his dick in his hand, lining himself up with her entrance. He looked back up into her eyes as she slowly sank down all the way. 

She put her hands on his shoulders as he put his own back on her hips. They sat there for a moment just enjoying the feeling of each other. It was a true nod to their relationship. One minute they were passionately rough and the next they would be comfortably intimate. 

They stared each other right in the eyes as Beth started to ride him. He leaned down to nip at neck, soothing the small love bites with the slickness of his tongue making her gasp in pleasure. 

He could tell she was getting close again when her nails dug into his shoulders. He couldn't even begin to count the scratches on his body, much like the bruises on hers. The night had been raw and animalistic and now it was ending on a much sweeter note. 

Her lower jaw dropped as a long moan came out when she spasmed around him, milking him for everything he had left in him. Her body went slack against his and he wrapped his arms around her, now thoroughly exhausted even more so than before.

“Is it safe to sleep now or are we goin' again?”

Beth snorted into the junction of his shoulder and neck. “Sleep...” He let out a chuckle hearing the fatigue washing over her.

Looking at the clock now, Daryl noticed he had been able to at least get a few hours of sleep before his internal clock woke him. He had about twenty minutes before he had to leave for work which wasn't much time as he really needed a shower first.

He sighed as he tried to maneuver out from under her without having to wake her up. He knew he failed when he heard that little hum leaving her lips. He pressed a soft kiss against her hair.

“Mornin'.”

Beth cleared her throat but it didn't help to remove the sleep from her voice. “Morning...what time is it?”

“Early. I gotta get up for work though.”

Beth nodded, not quite registering his words as she rolled off his arm and pulled a pillow into her arms to hug. 

He didn't bother covering himself as he walked to the bathroom, starting up the shower as hot as it would go. He was very refreshed when he got out but hissed when he rubbed the towel over some particularly harsh scratches from the previous night.   
He walked back into the room, Beth now sitting up in bed rubbing her eyes, probably not having been able to go back to sleep. They were bloodshot and her hair looked like a bird's nest but she was still beautiful to him. 

He pulled some clothes out of the drawers, quickly throwing them on as he watched Beth. She looked around the room before her eyes landed on him.

“What time do you have to leave?”

He glanced over at the clock again. “'Bout two minutes.”

Beth looked uncomfortable as she nodded and got out of the bed, looking for her clothes. “I should get goin' then.” Her voice didn't match up to the sentence. She figured that Daryl didn't want her hanging around his house all day while he was at work. It seemed a little too domestic for this stage in their relationship. She didn't want him to think that just because they were having sex that it meant she took it like they were gonna start acting like husband and wife, effectively freaking him out.

“Uh...yeah.” Daryl didn't really know what to say. It wasn't that he wanted Beth to leave, he internally smiled at the thought of coming home to her again, but he figured if she was saying that then she must be looking for an out so she didn't feel obligated to stay until he got home from work. While Daryl may know how to read a girl in bed, he wasn't nearly as pro at it when it came to conversations. If he was, he might have figured out that Beth didn't really want to leave but didn't want to stay without an invitation.

She looked back at him for a second before continuing her search for her dress. She found it and threw it on, thankful that her underwear was right next to it as she shimmied them up her legs. 

Daryl cleared his throat before leaving the room. He grabbed managed to find his phone, wallet, and keys by the time Beth had found her shoes and bag. He walked outside and realized he had picked her up yesterday.

“Shit...”

Beth must have realized the same thing as she quickly spoke up. “It's okay, I can call someone for a ride. I don't want you to be late.”

Daryl shook his head at her. “Nah, it's alright. It'll only take a few minutes. Come on.”

Once again, being the gentleman that he is, he walked her to the car and opened up the door for her, helping her inside before making his way around to his own side of the car.

She was silent in the car, and so was he. Neither really having all that much to say, and that was okay. For them, silence wasn't always a bad thing. Daryl reached over and grabbed her hand, his thumb caressing hers. The little action made the corners of her mouth twitch into a small smile. 

Back at the farm, Beth didn't want to delay him any further, so she undid the belt and quickly leaned over, giving him a short kiss before thanking him. She had shut the door and began walking towards the house as Daryl stuck his head out the window.

“I'll call ya later, okay?”

Beth smiled and nodded before waving him off. The morning had shown that while their communication may not be up to par, they were really trying. They had both shown each other that this was something that they truly wanted and would what it took to make it all work out.

Beth went inside and headed straight for the shower before collapsing into bed to get some sleep, knowing she had to work another shift that night. Even the thought of it made her feel more exhausted than she already was.


	9. Chapter 9

It was early on Saturday morning that Daryl woke up with the little blonde in his arms. Beth didn't come to Daryl's until three in the morning after the bar closed. She hadn't seen him since he dropped her off at the farm on Monday; but today they had planned to go find a car for Beth, so she thought it would be easier if she just knocked out at his place. She indeed had knocked out almost immediately after Daryl let her in, barely making it to the bed before she was asleep, which is why he decided not to wake her just yet.   
Daryl gently rolled Beth off to the side and pulled his arm out from underneath her. He leaned down to place a soft kiss on her shoulder before getting out of the bed. After relieving himself, he made his way into the small kitchen, yawning along the way. Daryl sighed when he opened the fridge, thinking about how he really did need to pick up some food. He was in luck though because he did have bacon and eggs. He figured the best way to wake up sleeping beauty would be with enticing food.  
Daryl’s stomach rumbled as he finished cooking up the meal, not realizing how hungry he was. He turned off the stove and placed the food on plates before going back to the bedroom to drag Beth out of bed.  
Daryl brushed the wild hair out of Beth’s face, grinning at the fact that she hadn't even taken her makeup off before going to sleep, which was now making her slightly resemble a raccoon. He placed a kiss on her forehead before moving his lips over to whisper in her ear, “Beth, time to get up.”  
Beth moaned, shook her head and turned so she was face down in the pillow, making Daryl chuckle. He shook her by the shoulder, still being so gentle it was like he thought she was a porcelain doll. “Don't you wanna know what I have for you?”   
He could tell her interest was piqued, because she picked up her head, raising a lazy eyebrow at him. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her dry lips. “Breakfast.” Beth hummed, and he could almost hear the debate she was having with herself in her head, whether it was worth it or not to leave the comfort of bed. He figured he could sweeten the offer by telling her what the meal consisted of. “I made eggs...and bacon.”   
Beth groaned, knowing she had to get out of bed with the promise of bacon awaiting her in the next room. Daryl gently tapped her on the butt beckoning her to follow him to the kitchen. She pulled herself out of bed moaning as she stretched. She had been feeling basically like shit all week long, and she prayed she wasn't getting sick. Beth knew she couldn't afford to miss any work, especially since she was about to drop a nice amount of money on a car.  
The smell wafted into her nose when she walked into the next room. “Mmm...smells good.” She yawned and rubbed her face, sitting down at the small table. Daryl put the plate in front of her and she wasted no time before she started to dig in. By the time Daryl had sat down with his own plate, half her meal was gone. A soft smile graced his lips and he raised an eyebrow at her. She mumbled a quick ‘shut up’ which only made her face turn red as she realized her mouth was full of food. Daryl barked out a laugh at her expense.  
“Maybe I shoulda made more.” It irritated Beth that he was so amused at her expense. She quickly swallowed down the mouthful before speaking this time.  
“Oh come on, I haven't eaten in like 24 hours. Been feeling too shitty and now that I'm finally hungry, I'm taking full advantage of it.”  
“Alright alright, I'll quit teasin' ya.”   
“Much obliged.”  
They finished their meal mostly in silence, as Beth was still trying to wake her brain up. When they finished they shared a shower together, and she reveled in the feeling of Daryl caressing her body with soap. He didn't push her to do anything and for that, Beth was grateful because she wasn't exactly feeling in the mood.  
She was still dragging when they made their way out to Daryl's truck and once inside, she rested her head against the window. Beth wasn't exactly a morning person, but this was just out of the ordinary for her. Daryl placed a hand on her thigh and squeezed. “Ya alright?”  
She nodded. “Mhm, guess I just haven't been sleeping enough.” Daryl nodded, accepting her answer for the time being as he cranked the engine and started heading toward their destination.  
The first few places they visited had been busts. The cars had definitely been overpriced lemons and Beth was really glad she brought Daryl with her, knowing she probably would've just bought the first one she saw.  
By three in the afternoon, they had arrived at a friend of Daryl's who was selling his old car. Nothing special, just a small sedan but it would be perfect for Beth. The car was in great shape but was still a little overpriced and Daryl had managed to talk him down a few hundred bucks. Finally they agreed on a deal and Beth had herself a 'new' car.   
They left in separate cars but met back up at Daryl's house. He walked inside with her trailing behind. He threw his keys on the counter, where they almost slid right off onto the floor, before he walked over to the couch and plopped down. Beth put her hands on her hips and stared at him.   
She stood there for a moment before Daryl finally spoke up. “What?”  
Beth smiled, but it wasn't one of those cute little smiles she usually used. It was somewhere between a grin and a smirk and it was a subtle hint to Daryl as to what she was actually feeling and he could tell she was definitely awake now. She walked over to him and slowly straddled his lap. “Thank you for helping me with the car.”   
He put his hands on her hips, his fingers rubbing in small circles underneath the hem of her shirt. “S'nothin.”   
Beth leaned her head down and claimed Daryl's mouth. Her tongue slipped in between his lips and he gently bit down on it making her moan into the kiss. His hands moved up to grasp her ribs and she fisted her hands into his shirt, grinding her pelvis against the growing bulge in his jeans.  
She pulled back, her lips swollen and chest heaving. “I feel like I owe you a thank you.”  
Daryl chuckled. “I mean...if ya say so, I ain't gonna argue.”   
He let go of her as she climbed off of his lap, getting to her knees in between his legs. Beth rubbed her hands up and down his thighs as she licked her lips. Her hands made their way up his legs slowly, lightly brushing over his hard cock making Daryl squirm.   
When she decided she was done with her teasing, she looked him in the eyes as she pulled the button of his jeans and slowly dragged the zipper down. Reaching inside, she grabbed his cock and released it from its confines. She pumped it a couple times before letting go, the heavy weight falling to rest against his stomach.  
She leaned in and ran her tongue along the underside, from base to tip, making Daryl shudder. When she reached the top, she sucked him into her mouth and his hands immediately went to those golden locks and gripped them hard. She swirled her tongue around, licking up all of the pre-cum. “Fuck.” Daryl spoke as his hips jerked up, forcing himself further into her wet mouth.  
Beth moaned around his cock, slowly starting to bob up and down, trying to take as much of him into her mouth as possible. It felt like a spark of electricity shot through his body every time he hit the back of her throat.   
“God damn baby girl. You love sucking my cock, huh? Like the way it feels in that hot mouth of yers?” Daryl groaned, enjoying the feel of Beth’s lips wrapped around him.  
Beth nodded then moaned and Daryl felt like he was about to blow his load right then. He felt the vibrations as the muffled sound escaped her, the head of his cock push deeper into her mouth, feeling her throat muscles constrict as she swallowed around him, forcing his cock in all the way. He could feel the breaths coming from her nose on his pubic hair, knowing that her oral airway wasn't going to suffice with his dick crammed down it.   
“Ah shit. Takin' it all like a good girl.” Daryl praised, making Beth work that much harder.  
Beth's own core was on fire and she was sure she'd have to change her underwear because it would take ages for the wetness to dry. With one hand on his thigh, she let the other trail down to the waistband of her shorts and let her fingers slip inside. She moaned against his cock again as her fingers came into contact with her clit and started to rub.   
That was all it took for Daryl, seeing his woman trying to get herself off because she was so turned on by sucking his cock, for him to lose it. “Fuck, I'm gonna cum.” He tried to pull her by the hair to get her off, but Beth pulled against him as she felt him start to tighten up. His hot seed shot down the back of her throat in spurts and Beth swallowed every last drop as he came with a loud groan.  
She pulled her mouth off of him with a pop and leaned back on her heels, one hand still buried in her pussy. It had to be one of the hottest things that Daryl had ever seen. He wasted no time in pulling her up. His mouth smashed against hers and he tasted himself on her tongue. He turned them around so Beth sat with her back against the couch cushions and he pulled her shorts violently down her legs.   
Pulling her legs over his shoulders, Daryl licked up her wet slit, inhaling her scent. When his tongue found her clit, she jerked and he sucked it into his mouth. He could tell she was close by the way her muscles kept contracting. He plunged two fingers into her tight pussy and curled them so they rubbed against her g-spot. With his mouth and fingers working simultaneously, Beth came crashing down around him. She pushed her hips up and pushed his face further into her wetness as she came with a yell. He greedily licked up the new juices that were now flowing and only when she relaxed did he remove his fingers and pull his face away. He used the back of his hand to wipe off his mouth before moving up her body to give her a gentle kiss. He pressed his forehead against hers as they both regained their breath.   
“Best thank you ever.” His comment made Beth giggle. He stood up pulling her along with him and did up his pants again. Beth found her panties and shorts on the floor and pulled them back up her legs.  
“I need food now.” It was Daryl's turn to chuckle as he looked at her. It was obvious she was totally spent.  
“Didn't I already feed ya this mornin'?”   
Beth scoffed at him, “Sometimes I like to eat more than once a day. Come on, you can take me to the diner.”   
“Lucky me.” Daryl grabbed his keys off the counter as Beth dragged him out the door.   
She rolled her eyes at his comment. “Don't act like you don't love it.”   
They had just ordered their food at the diner and Beth was currently running her foot up and down Daryl's shin as he just smiled at her. Anyone looking at him could see he was really happy and that was for the first time in a long while.   
Of course not even a simple happy moment such as this one could go without a little bit of drama for Daryl. He inwardly cursed as the bell above the door jingled and in walked Mandy. He hadn't seen her since that night he fucked her in his truck and left her hanging. He prayed that she wouldn't come over but because of his rotten luck, that didn't happen.   
Mandy's eyes landed on him and a sickening smile made its way onto her features. She didn't even look at Beth as she walked over to him.  
“Hey Daryl,” her voice sent a shiver down his spine, “haven't seen around in a while.” Mandy leaned over and put her elbows on the table, her body slightly turned away from Beth who now wore a confused expression.   
Daryl cleared his throat before speaking low. “Been busy.” He hoped she would take the hint and walk away but apparently she took that as an invitation or a challenge, he wasn't quite sure which.  
Mandy’s hand was on his bicep, caressing it, when she spoke seductively. “But you're free now, right?” Daryl squinted at her and was about to ask if she was blind or just plain stupid, but before he got the chance, Beth jumped out of the booth and stormed out the door.   
“Shit.” Daryl stood up immediately, pulling his wallet out and throwing some cash down on the table. He strode towards the door, hearing Mandy mumble a not so innocent “Oops.” behind him.   
He found Beth already in the truck, staring straight ahead. He opened the driver side door and climbed in. “Beth...” He was ready to start apologizing when Beth spoke up.  
“I'm not mad.” The words somewhat stunned him.   
Daryl just nods for a second. “Okay...you wanna tell me what's goin' on then if you ain't mad?”  
Beth shrugged. “I guess I'm just jealous. I had to get out of there before I ripped her trashy hair out.” Daryl tried to stifle his laugh at the mental image. “Is this how you felt? When I showed up with Zach?”   
It was Daryl's turn to shrug. “Guess so...but listen, I haven't even seen her since you showed back up here, way before we started anything again.”  
Beth leaned over and pressed a peck on his lips. “You don't have to explain yourself...I trust you.” She pulled back and clicked her seat belt on. “I think more than anything I'm upset I didn't even get my food.”  
Daryl truly laughed at that and the sound made her stomach flutter. “S'pose we could fix that. What ya want?”  
“Maybe we could go to that place, Frosty's or whatever it is, where they have those really thick shakes and super salty french fries?” She fluttered her eyelashes at him as he sighed.  
“Damn, Beth that's like thirty minutes away!” She stuck her lower lip out at him and he could tell she was about to start begging. “Shit...you're lucky you're pretty.” She smiled, content she was getting a fill for her craving, and Daryl smiled at seeing the happy look appear, knowing he'd do almost anything to put that look on her face.


	10. Chapter 10

A month had gone by since Daryl helped Beth find a new car. It was now mid-June and Beth had a hot date...with her sister. They planned to spend the evening in true Greene sister fashion, meaning they would pig out on food, drink some wine, and gossip. 

Beth was getting ready at Daryl's house, which was now where she spent most of her time. She hadn't actually moved in with him – he hadn't asked, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy her being there most of the time. She was in the bathroom throwing her hair up into a ponytail when Daryl appeared in the doorway. He was leaning against the frame with his arms crossed as they made eye contact in the mirror. 

Pulling the elastic band into place, she turned to face him. “I'm thinking about cutting my hair. It's getting way too long to be manageable.” 

Daryl uncrossed his arms and reached behind her to run his fingers through the long ponytail and gave a gentle tug when he reached the end. “Mmm...nah.”

Beth smiled. “No?”

He shook his head at her. “No.” 

“You know I'll have to cut it eventually, right?”

“No.” Apparently that was the only word he knew now.

It was Beth's turn to shake her head at him, chuckling softly. She knew he loved her hair but she would indeed have to cut it otherwise she'd be sitting on it soon. Turning back to the mirror, she grabbed her chapstick and applied some to her lips. 

“You goin' to Maggie's?”

She nodded as she recapped the lip balm. “Yeah, Glenn's working so it'll be just us.”

“Alright...I was gonna head on over to Patton's. Some of the guys from work were gonna meet up there for some drinks.” She could tell by his tone that he was asking for permission without outright doing it. The thought of that made Beth smile. 

“Sounds good, go have some fun.” Ever since the run in with that trashy woman at the diner, Daryl had been good about making sure that Beth had no reason to be jealous. She trusted him and wasn't going to worry about him going out without her. 

Suddenly Daryl's hands were wrapped around her waist from behind with his lips on her neck. He sucked at the skin while Beth placed her hands over his. When he pulled back she still felt his hot breath hitting her exposed flesh. “You know...we could both just stay in and have some fun together.” 

She was about one kiss away from saying yes to that, so she pulled away from him and turned around to face him as he dropped his hands to his sides. “You're insatiable.”

He stepped closer to her, pinning her between his hard body and the bathroom counter. “Maybe so.” Daryl leaned in to kiss her when Beth beat him to it. She pecked him on the lips and ducked under his arm to walk out of the bathroom. 

“I'll be back by ten! See ya later!” She yelled back over her shoulder. She heard him grumbling about something, still in the bathroom, as she grabbed her purse and left. 

Beth and Maggie set up camp in the living room. They each had a bottle of wine to themselves and were currently chowing down on bowls of ice cream. The conversation flowed easily between them making so they they made their way through different topics quickly. Maggie had heard all about how things were going between Beth and Daryl, while Beth had listened while Maggie bitched about the snotty new girl at her work. 

After swallowing a huge bite of mint chocolate chip, Maggie cleared her throat. “I think something's wrong with me.” Beth raised an eyebrow, her own mouth full of strawberry sorbet, silently urging her to continue. “I just want to be pregnant and it's not happening. There's gotta be something wrong with my uterus or something.” 

Beth put her bowl in her lap, reaching a hand over to rub Maggie's leg. “Don't talk like that. You guys have only been trying for a few months right?” Her sister nodded. “And didn't they say it could take some time because you were on those pills for so long?” She nodded again. “So give it some time before you condemn your reproductive organs, alright? I'm sure it'll happen soon.”

Maggie let out a huge sigh. “I guess I've always been impatient.” 

This made Beth giggle and nod in agreement. “This is very true. Just give it some time...trust me, once you are actually pregnant, you'll be so uncomfortable you'll wish you could turn back time.” 

Maggie was about to open her mouth to speak when the phone ringing interrupted her. She put her bowl to the side and stood up to go answer it leaving Beth with her thoughts. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that she was pregnant herself. All the mood swings, the cravings, and not to mention that everything denim that she owned seemed just a little too tight. She would have laughed at the thought of being pregnant if not for remembering how Daryl and her hadn't been especially careful using protection. She knew it had been stupid of them, but what were the chances that she was actually pregnant? She had been pregnant before and knew what it felt like so surely she would know if she was again. 

She looked up when Maggie walked back over and was about to bring up her musings but didn't when she saw her sister's face. Maggie looked white as a ghost and her mouth was slightly open. Beth shoved her bowl to the side and stood up, reaching out for her sister. “Maggie! Are you okay?” 

Maggie shook her head. “Daddy's in the hospital.” 

Beth tried to get more information out of Maggie as they raced to the hospital, but all that she knew was that their mother called to inform them that their father had started having chest pain and so she called 911 and they rushed him to the emergency room. 

They rushed inside the building and up to a desk where a young receptionist sat. Beth realized that the sisters must have looked ridiculous with their red faces and watering eyes but then thought that she must be used to seeing worried family members coming in. “Can I help you?”

Maggie nodded. “We're looking for Hershel Greene.” The receptionist nodded and started typing something in to her computer. 

A few seconds went by before she spoke up again. “Are you the family?” 

“We're his daughters.” Beth's voice came out shaky, as she was on the verge of tears. 

“Alright then. They just moved him up to a room. He's on the second floor, room 213.” Maggie thanked the woman as she started walking quickly towards the elevators with Beth trailing behind. 

They found room 213 and didn't bother knocking, instead opting to just barge in. Faced with the sight of her father hooked up to IVs and machines, Beth immediately started crying. She was barely aware of her mother wrapping her arms around her and her father trying to comfort her with words from his hospital bed. 

When she finally composed herself to silent tears, she walked over to Hershel's bedside to stand next to Maggie. She placed her hand in her father's, and brought it up to her mouth to place a soft kiss on it. “What happened?”

Her mother looked at her through her own puffy eyes and spoke. “He had a heart attack. The doctors are saying he should be okay but they want to keep him here for at least the night to watch him.” 

Beth's breath hitched. “Oh Daddy...” 

Hershel removed his hand from Beth's and brought itup to her hair, smoothing it down with his hand. “Gonna take a lot more than that to get rid of me Bethy, you know that.”

Despite the sickening worry and pain from seeing her father laying in the hospital bed, Beth couldn't help but smile knowing that he was indeed fine if he was still able to make jokes. 

The Greene girls spent the next few hours at their father's bedside mostly talking but sometimes just sitting to enjoy the comfortable silence between them. The nurse came in to tell them that Hershel should probably getting some rest. Maggie offered to drive Beth home but she had other things in mind.

Stepping out into the hallway after Maggie had left, she pulled out her phone from her pocket seeing she had a few missed calls. She sighed, seeing they were all from Daryl. She hovered over the keypad and dialed. He picked up on the second ring, not even bothering to say hello.

“Jesus Beth, I've been tryin' to get a hold of you. You said you'd be back by ten!”

Beth closed her eyes, feeling the immediate comfort she received by his voice, even if he was a little upset with her. 

“Daryl...can you come get me?”

She heard him sigh on the other end. “Sure baby girl, you still at Maggie's?” She thought she might actually swoon at him calling her baby girl again. 

She shook her head at his question but quickly realized he couldn't see her. “No, I'm at the hospital.”

She heard noises in the background, probably him trying to rush to get out the door. “Shit! Are you okay? What happened?”

“Daryl, I'm fine. It's my daddy...he had a heart attack but he's okay.”

“Damn...alright, I'll be there soon.”

She hung up and went back inside the room to kiss her daddy and say goodbye. She reminded her mother to call and let her know when Hershel would be getting discharged before being shooed out by the nurse's stern stare. 

Once outside, she pulled her jacket tightly around her and sat down on the curb to wait for Daryl. It couldn't have been longer than five minutes before he was there. He left the car running and his door open as he rushed around the front of the truck and pulled her into his arms just as she made it back to her feet. 

“Ya alright?” He spoke into her hair.

She nodded as best she could when his hard chest and arms had her trapped. “I am now.”


	11. Chapter 11

A week had gone by since Hershel's heart attack and if it was even physically possible, Beth was feeling more worn down than ever. The first few days after the event were emotionally exhausting, even after constant reassurance from the doctors that her father should be okay as long as he followed their instructions.   
Between both of their work schedules and helping out on the farm whenever possible, Beth and Daryl hadn't had much time to each other even though she was basically living at Daryl's. Beth would be on the farm all day while Daryl was at work, and he'd come over after to help out until the sun went down and the whole Greene clan would eat dinner together before Beth would have to go to work at the bar. They'd get to sleep for a blissful two hours before Daryl would have to get up for work again.   
It was currently a Saturday and everything seemed so stereotypical while Daryl and Glenn worked out in the fields with Beth and Maggie currently taking a break on the front porch to drink some lemonade.   
"Ya think it could get any hotter out here today?" Maggie spoke up while she absentmindedly fanned herself unsuccessfully with a napkin.   
Beth put the back of her wrist to her forehead, trying to get rid of the sweat and grime that had currently collected there. "Don't even say that...it could and you know it." She wiped the dampness on her hand onto her pants. "Although, I could get used to this view."  
Maggie laughed and shook her head at her sister, knowing she was not referring to the outdoors. Beth seemed to enjoy the fact that Daryl was glistening with sweat because of the way it accentuated his arms. "Oh stop it...your actin' like a cat in heat."  
Beth sighed dramatically, "Well I can't help it! We've barely seen each other all week. Haven't had much time to get rid of my pent up tension if ya catch my drift."   
Catching the wink from her sister, Maggie playfully shoved her, making Beth spill some lemonade on her leg. "Oh that's way too much information. You're my baby sister, I don't need to be hearin' all that."  
Beth wiped off the sticky drink from her thigh and licked it off her hand. "It's just hard ya know? Our schedules are pretty opposite...I miss him." She scratched her head and sighed, "Nevermind, that sounded stupid."  
Maggie shook her head and put her hand on Beth's shoulder. "No it's not. I know what you mean. Not gettin' to spend any time together is rough but just remember it's only temporary."  
"How temporary though? Daddy's gonna need a lot of help from now on..."   
"Heard he was gonna try to hire someone on for some help full time so his son-in-laws don't have to take over." Maggie elbowed her lightly. "Come on, don't look so happy."   
Beth laughed at her sister's sarcasm. "I know, I sound selfish...but I mean come on, can ya blame me?" She gestured out to Daryl. "Look at that!"   
Maggie snorted, "I'm not even going there."  
The younger blonde laughed again and pointed at her, "Smart girl!" She got up from her seat and put her hands on her hips. "Well, I'd love to stay and work with you guys but I would really love to get home and shower before work. I feel disgusting."   
"That's the exact reason why I'm not even gonna bother with a hug. I'll see ya tomorrow?"  
"Bright and early!" Beth said with fake cheeriness and a big smile on her face. "And by that I mean like 11 or so..."  
"Such a joker. Now go on, shoo!"  
Beth made her way down the stairs, pulling her keys out of her back pocket. "I'm going, I'm going!"   
She made her way to her car and Daryl looked up as his ears picked up on the sound of her engine starting. Beth rolled out the window and waved at him and he put a hand up in reply.   
On the ride back, Beth rolled down her window and stuck her hand out, enjoying the feeling of the wind hitting her skin and kicking up her hair. She was thankful she could cool off this way instead of having to run the AC and waste her much needed money on more gas.   
After making it to Daryl's, she stripped off her shirt as soon as she was inside. Her other clothes would join it on the floor as she left a trail of dirty laundry leading to the bathroom. She turned the knob to get the water running and made sure it was just warm enough to not freeze and got in.   
Beth licked her lips and was slightly grossed out by how salty it tasted. She was now very glad that she came home early to bathe.   
The water felt so refreshing running over her head and down her body that she didn't know how long she had been standing like that before an arm snaked around her waist. She immediately jumped, startled by the intrusion, and was about to turn around and raise hell when that rough voice spoke in her ear. "I knew if I followed the trail of bras and panties, I'd find you naked somewhere."  
She immediately relaxed feeling his tongue run up her neck to her earlobe to nip at it. "Daryl..."   
"Hm?" was his response as he wrapped his other arm around her body and chose the spot just under her ear to suck on.   
"I gotta be at work soon and I still need to wash."  
As much as it pained him to pull away, he stopped sucking on her neck to reply. "Well, I can definitely help you with that." He reached for the soap and rubbed it between his hands before setting it back down.   
Beth leaned back against him and could immediately felt the hardness of his body pressing against her backside. Daryl's soapy hands were running over her stomach and up over her breasts before dipping back down between her legs. He felt like he could actually see the tension leaving her body as she melted underneath his actions.   
"Feel good?"  
She was only able to nod in response before Daryl was spinning her around and his lips were on hers. She ran her fingers through his hair, tugging it on it gently as he caressed her ass. He grabbed at the top of her thighs and Beth seemed to get the message because, along with his help, she hoisted herself up and wrapped her legs around him. He turned them so her back was against the wall and reached between their bodies to line up his throbbing erection with her wet opening before pushing in as far as he could.   
Beth moaned and Daryl shut his eyes as he felt her tight warm pussy clench around him. He was able to form some sort of coherent words and spoke. "Fuck, I missed this."  
Her nails were digging into his back over his scars as he thrusted into her over and over again and he was sure that there would be marks. He could tell he wasn't going to last long so he reached between them to rub her clit which seemed to be just enough to push her over the edge. Beth's toes curled and she cried out as the orgasm washed over her.   
Her pussy felt like a vice grip as it clamped down on his cock. He was able to pull himself out of her just in time to release over her abdomen. Daryl slowly released her shaking legs until her feet were on the floor, the water quickly washing away their dirty mess.   
Beth's arms were still wrapped around his neck as she leaned her forehead against his chest panting. He brushed his hand down her hair and kissed the top of her head. He pulled away slowly and Beth seemed to regain her composure as she turned around and dipped her head under the water once more.   
She smiled back at him and saw he had a playful grin on his face as he reached to smack her ass. "Now you'd best wash up. You gotta be at work soon."   
"Yeah yeah yeah." Beth playfully glared back at him before grabbing the bar of soap to wash more thoroughly this time.


	12. Chapter 12

 

**I know! Another chapter so soon! Haha it's because I love my readers...seriously you guys are great.**

**PLEASE read the AN at the end, I need your help!**

Seven days had gone by since Beth and Daryl's showertime fun and the calendar now said it was the 4th of July. Beth had been looking forward to this day all week, partly because of the big town event and partly because both her and Daryl didn't have to work because of said event.

It seemed that almost all occupants of the city would gather in the big park in the middle of town where there would be plenty of food, live music, and a parade that mostly consisted of children who decorated their bikes with streamers and bows alongside the high school marching band and hometown soldiers.

Beth woke up around noon after catching up on some much needed sleep. She had worked until closing at the bar the night before and she was able to crawl into bed at about three in the morning. She rolled up to find Daryl's side of the bed empty, not that she was surprised. He had already been asleep when she got home and she would guess he had been up since the crack of dawn.

Pulling herself out of the comfortable confines of their bed, Beth walked through their small house to see if Daryl was anywhere to be found. When she found no evidence of him being home, she peaked out the window to see that his truck was gone. She went back into the bedroom and pulled her phone off the charger to send him a text.

You know, it sucks waking up to an empty house.

She walked back into the living room and plopped down on the couch throwing her phone on the cushion next to her before flipping on the tv. An hour went by before Beth's phone chimed, ripping her attention away from the house hunting show she had gotten sucked into. Looking at the illuminated screen, she saw Daryl had responded.

Just wantd to help ou your dad alittle. Will b home soon.

Beth chuckled at the spelling errors, knowing the size of Daryl's fingers often caused him to make some mistakes. Looking at the clock, she decided she should probably get ready as they'd be leaving soon after Daryl got home.

After a relaxing shower, in which she took her time, Beth stood in front of the closet in a towel with her hair still dripping wet. Glancing over her options, she quickly selected a navy blue dress with a white bow and grabbed a pair of red flats, smiling at her patriotic choice.

She took the towel off, drying off the remaining droplets and threw her clothes on. Just as she was about to enter the bathroom again, there was the unmistakable sound of the front door opening and closing.

Daryl threw his keys on the counter and kicked off his boots, knowing Beth would shoot him _that_ look for leaving them in the walkway -- he was a little too tired to care at the moment. It was supposed to be a relaxing day off but when he woke up and realized Beth wouldn't be awake for a while, he figured he might as well make himself useful and go help out on the Greene farm. Hours had gone by and now he was finally home and could hear the shower calling his name, if atleast just to cool off.

He heard her footsteps before he saw her but when he looked up, his breath slightly caught in his throat. Daryl thought Beth looked beautiful in that blue dress, even with no make up on and her hair a wet mess. She smiled at him and it made his stomach clench. He really had missed the feelings she gave him, even something just as simple as watching her face light up because he was home.

"Hey!" She said while walking towards him. He greeted her back as she stood on the tips of her toes to peck him on the lips. "You gonna shower so we can go?" Beth rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

"Yeah," he nodded at her as he made his way towards the bathroom, "you know, patience is a virtue."

Beth trailed behind him. "Pfft, don't be a fuddy duddy! I'm excited!"

Daryl's lip quirked as he tried to hide his smile, he was pretty excited too. He was looking forward to eating some good food and he was also thankful to be able to spend some time with Beth.

He hopped in the shower, enjoying the feel of the hot water running over his lean body. While he bathed, Beth ran a brush through her long tresses, deciding to put them up in a messy ponytail to keep the extra heat off her neck. She pulled out that red lipstick that Maggie had made her buy months ago and put a coat on her mouth. "I'll be in the living room whenever you're ready to go!"

Beth heard him grunt from the shower, assuming that meant he had heard her. She went back down to once again plop down on the worn down cushion tuning back in to home and garden channel.

When Daryl finally emerged, he was dressed in one of his nicer pairs of jeans and a faded blue button up, of course with the sleeves ripped off. "Ya ready?"

Beth clicked the tv off and jumped up, grabbing him by the hand before dragging him out the door. "Guess I got my answer." Daryl said, barely able to grab his keys before he was out the front door.

Once they arrived, the couple spent about twenty minutes before finally finding a place to park and they made their way towards the festivities. Daryl decided food was up first on the list, which is why they were in line for hamburgers when Maggie and Glenn found them. The sisters hugged while the men shook hands.

The group quickly began chatting -- more so Beth and Maggie began chatting, while waiting in line. Once they finally got their food, the group made there way over to the street to find a spot to sit for the parade.

They sat and ate, enjoying the beautiful summer day and each other's company. They enjoyed watching the parade, seeing all the little kids wave at the crowd with such enthusiasm, but Beth did feel a little pang in her heart when she thought of her own child she had lost. She wondered if he would be on a little bike with the training wheels still attached or if he'd prefer to cling to his parents while watching the others participate.

She felt Daryl squeeze her hand and she looked up to find a questioning look on his face. She smiled back at him, reassuring him everything was okay.

Throughout the rest of the day, the group stuck together, enjoying the live music which made Beth wish she had signed up to perform something. Beth and Daryl ended the night in each other's arms underneath the fireworks, thankful for there country and for each other.

The following Monday, Maggie and Beth decided to head over to the big mall again. It seemed whenever Maggie was stressed, a little retail therapy always seemed to help.

The girls were walking around, no real destination in mind, when Beth broke the silence. "So ya gonna tell me what's on your mind?"

Maggie's feet hesitated for a moment before she plastered a smile on her face. "What makes ya think somethin's wrong?"

Beth shot her a look that basically said _'Don't even try that'._

Maggie didn't respond, even though the smile fell from her face. It was only when they walked by a high end maternity store that she stopped. Beth had walked a few steps ahead before she noticed her sister wasn't by her side anymore. Turning back to look, she saw Maggie just staring at the store.

Beth walked back to her sister and just as she reached her, the oldest broke out in tears.

"Oh my god Mags!" Beth wrapped her arms around her sister to try and console her. They stood there like that, Maggie crying in the middle of the mall while Beth whispered reassuring things in her ear.

Maggie finally calmed down and apologized. "I'm sorry...I just want it so bad."

Beth nodded at her. "I know."

"It's like everytime it doesn't happen...my heart just gets ripped out of my chest and then all these thoughts run through my head about how something must be wrong and we're never going to have kids."

"I can't even imagine what you're going through, Maggie. So I'm not even going to act like that. My best advice is just try to stay positive and talk to a doctor if you really think something is wrong."

Maggie nodded. "I know...now come on, I need a pretzel."

Beth smiled and they continued on, now with a destination in mind. The more Beth thought on the subject though, the more she thought there may be some questions about her own fertility.

**Sooo obviously there are gonna be some big things coming up and I hope you guys are looking forward to it.**

**I do need your help though. I am writing a new story that will take place in the zombie universe that starts in season 2 and yes it will be a Bethyl fic. I wanted to hear some thoughts on what'd you like to see, even if it's just litle things! It obviously won't follow the show completely so I need things to fill some parts in. I also am taking suggestions for names.**

**I also am starting a Bethyl one-shot collection so if you have any prompts for that, send them to me!**

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Ta-da! New chapter for you, and I find it very exciting. Kicks the story up a notch. So thank you for being so patient with the filler chapters**.

On the way home from the mall, after dropping Maggie off at her house, Beth went back out of the small town to find a drug store. She knew there was know way she could make a discreet purchase, the whole town would be gossiping within an hour. Pulling into a space in the small parking lot, she shut off the car and took a quick deep breath. She didn't even want to think of what should would do if the test came out positive. She was taking baby steps, focusing on one thing at a time. Right now, that meant finding a test.

She felt the air conditioning rush over her body as soon as she stepped inside, giving her slight chills. The cashier, a young teenage girl, looked her way when she entered and welcomed her. Beth smiled in response, trying to put on a face of confidence to mask her intense anxiety. She clutched her purse at her side, using it as an emotional anchor, and made her way towards the 'family planning' section of the store. She scoffed at the thought, this was far from being planned.

Standing in front of the shelves, she felt overwhelmed by the plethora of options. She wondered to herself how people came up with all the different technology for something you were just going to pee on. She quickly was able to rule out the cheap tests, knowing this was something she didn't want to be frugal with, and was left with a few different colored packages, some boasting accuracy and others claiming they could detect your little gift the earliest. Beth settled on a digital test that seemed idiot proof, that would supposedly just flat out say she was pregnant or not, with no faint lines to make you question the results.

At the check out counter, the young girl seemed to give Beth a knowing look, one laced with pity. She wanted to roll her eyes, assuming it was the lack of a wedding ring that made the cashier feel sorry for her being in this situation. That was just one of the problems with dating your own husband. She paid and denied a receipt, worrying about losing it and Daryl finding it before she could even take the test. She shoved the box into her purse and went back to her car and drove home.

She entered the house, after mentally preparing herself in her car, and found Daryl in the kitchen cooking up some hamburger patties. He smiled at her. "Where ya been? I thought you'd be home a while ago." He put down the spatula and lowered the heat on the stove before grabbing her by the face and kissing her softly.

When he pulled away, Beth shrugged. "Just had a couple errands to do, figured I'd get them done while I was out."

Daryl nodded at her. "Alright...well are ya hungry?"

"Starving!" Her voice came out dramatic and it made Daryl chuckle. "You better have those done soon or I'll be forced to eat you."

Daryl actually laughed this time. "I don't know if that was a bad zombie joke or some sorta pick up line."

Beth smiled at him. "Me either." She set her purse down and sprawled out on the couch. "I didn't know that the mall could be so exhausting."

He shook his head at her. "Ya, you got it so hard."

"Exactly. But I gotta say, it is nice to come home to find a sexy guy cookin' dinner for me."

"Oh yeah?" He peaked over his shoulder at her.

"Mhm." Seeing him staring at her, like she was the only woman left on Earth, lit a fire in her belly. She straightened her back, stretching her hands up above her head, exposing a sliver of her stomach to him. He raised his eyebrows at her as she reached down and grabbed the hem on the fabric and pulled it over her head. "It's just so hot out today."

Daryl smirked and nodded at her. "You bet it is." Beth didn't respond, instead reaching behind her to unclasp her bra, and rid it from her body. She was now naked from the hips up and he was going to take full advantage of it. He quickly turned off the stove and walked over the her. He knelt down and she spread her legs for him so he was in between them.

He put his hands around her ribs and leaned forward to take her breast into his mouth and Beth laced her fingers through his hair, moaning instantly at the contact. He sucked on the hard peak, before biting down and making her cry out in both pain and pleasure. He began giving the other side equal attention, making Beth buck her hips up towards him.

Daryl pulled away, smirking at her, and moved his hands down to the button on her shorts. Beth giggled as he undid them and started pulling them down her legs, along with her underwear. Once she was completely naked, Daryl was face to face with her glistening lips. "You wet for me already, baby girl?" He ran his finger along her slit, feeling just how lubricated she was.

"Uh huh." Beth's eye's were closed, enjoying the feeling of his electric touch. She gasped as she felt three of his thick fingers enter her, savoring the feeling of him stretching her, taking full advantage of her excitement. She moaned when his thumb brushed against her clit, and continued moaning when it was replaced with his tongue and his beard tickled at her sensitive flesh. He sucked on it as his fingers moved in and out of her, her juices now covering his hand. He could feel her tightening around him, letting him know that she was close, and he used that information to escalate his assault on her pussy. He nibbled at the bundle of nerves while curving his fingers upward and then she clamped down on him, crying out as the orgasm took over her body.

Beth was breathing heavily when Daryl removed his fingers and used his clean hand to wipe off his mouth. He definitely wasn't close to being done with her yet though. She had barely had a moment to recover and her legs were still quivering when he yanked her up off the cushion and maneuvered her until she was standing in front of the armrest of the couch. He pushed her down until she was bent over it and grabbed at her ass with his hands, massaging them roughly before removing them to unbuckle his own pants. He pulled out his rock hard shaft and gave it a couple pumps before putting one hand on Beth's back, using the other to guide himself into her.

She let out a single breathy moan as he sank into her, and Daryl had to bite his lip to keep himself from whimpering. "Fuck you're always so tight." He moved his hand down to grasp her hip and squeezed as he pulled out slowly before slamming back in. Beth yelped out as he brushed over her sweet spot. "You like that baby girl? Like it when I fuck you hard? I can arrange that." She frantically nodded giving Daryl the go ahead. He began pounding into her, both their ears intently listening to each other's labored breathing and the sound of their skin slapping together.

Beth came once again after a few minutes, the squeezing of her inner walls pushing Daryl closer to the edge. He moved one hand from her hip and tangled it into her hair, fisting it in his fingers before yanking her head back, making her whole body arch. The slight change in position was just what he needed to find his own release. With a few more shaky thrusts, he was done as well. He slowly pulled out of her and leaned down to place a kiss on her shoulder and buried his face in her hair.

Once her breathing stabilized, Beth spoke up. "Now, you better go get your ass back in the kitchen and finish making my food before I have to go to work."

"Don't push your luck." He stood up and redid his pants with a smile on his face, hearing Beth giggle before walking towards the bedroom to change for work.

The next morning, Daryl got up for work at his usual time. He tried to remain quiet, unaware that Beth was already awake and just pretending to be sleeping. She waited quietly while he got ready and when she finally heard him shut the front door, signaling he had left for the day.

She quietly pulled out the test from her bag and made her way into the bathroom. She set it on the counter and stared at it before picking it up again and ripping the box open. She quickly read the instructions and did her business. Now she was waiting.

She started chewing on her cuticles, her knee bouncing in anticipation. When the timer on her phone went off, she scrambled for the test. Once in her hands, she took in a large gulp of air before peeking down at it. Simultaneously her heart and stomach dropped. _Pregnant._ The word was there, clear as day.

She wasn't even aware that she was crying until the tears dropped onto the test. She used her free hand to swipe them away, trying to remain somewhat composed. Despite her efforts, the salty streams still made their way down her face. In her own little bubble, she didn't even hear that Daryl had come back to the house. He was passing by the bathroom on his way to the bedroom but stopped when he saw Beth in there. "Oh hey, I just came back for my wallet." When he spoke, she broke down, cursing herself for acting so weak. "Shit Beth, what's wrong?"

"I'm s-sorry!"

He went towards her, reading to wrap his hands around her. "What are you sorry-" he stopped, seeing the stick in her hand. "Is that what I think it is?"

She just nodded, continuing to sob.

Daryl backed out of the tiny room, feeling as though the walls were closing in on him. He would later feel like an asshole about it, but for now, he simply wasn't thinking right. He walked into their bedroom and sat on their bed, with his head in his hands.

Having a baby should be a joyous occasion, but given their past history, they didn't know if they were going to make it. Thoughts and questions ran through both of their minds. Fears of losing another child. Could their relationship take this kind of stress? Most of all, both of them were wondering one very important thing. Was the baby even Daryl's?

**Review and let me know what you think! It seems that not that many people are still interested in this story...if you aren't let me know why! I appreciate all sorts of feedback.**

 


	14. Chapter 14

 

**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!**

**So I know there was some confusion on the last chapter and I hope that this chapter clears it up. Oh, and I know this isn't exactly how maternal-fetal medicine works but for the purpose of the story, let's just pretend. Enjoy!**

After taking the pregnancy test, confirming her suspicions, Beth had called her ob-gyn to make an appointment. The doctor decided that because of Beth's history, she should see someone who specialized in high-risk pregnancies. Hearing that she was now considered 'high-risk', Beth's anxiety shot through the roof. When she placed the call to the new doctor, she was able to get an appointment for July 10th, due to a cancellation.

So here she was, two days after finding out there was another life growing inside of her, sitting in the waiting room an hour from home, glancing at her watch every thirty seconds. Daryl had said he was going to take the afternoon off from work and meet her, but he was already ten minutes late. She checked her cellphone again, even though she knew it'd be hard to miss a call because she had the volume all the way up, just in case. It was probably the first time that Beth was thankful doctors kept you waiting so long.

Beth glanced around the waiting room, noticing how much fancier than it was back home. There were flower arrangements on the countertop, a big tank filled with exotic fish, and the walls were adorned with beautiful paintings. There was one other woman in the waiting room, casually reading a magazine, but her stomach looked like she was about to pop. Beth couldn't help her thoughts from darkening, wondering if she'd even have the opportunity to get to that point this time. She sighed, trying to remain positive, and picked up a magazine off the table and flipped through it quickly, not really focusing on what was inside.

A few minutes later, the door to the back office opened and a young nurse stepped out. "Beth?"

"Yeah, me, here." Beth stood up and smoothed her dress down and checked her watch once again. She was disappointed, she really thought that Daryl would be here. She walked over to the nurse, who looked friendly with a big smile on her face. "Ready?" Beth nodded. "Okay, if you'll just follow me back and we can-" The nurse was mid sentence, about to shut the door behind Beth, when the door to the waiting room burst open. Beth and the nurse turned to see what the commotion was, and to her delightful surprise, it was Daryl.

His eyes scanned the room before spotting her, and he made his way over. "I'm here, I'm sorry." He leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek. Beth laughed at him, her spirits obviously brightened, and she noticed how his face was bright red and he was out of breath. She made a mental note to tease him later about being out of shape.

"It's okay, you made it." Beth grabbed his hand, thankful he was here to support her. The nurse, still smiling, cleared her throat. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry. We're ready now."

"Not a problem. As I was saying, let's just go this way and we can start off by getting a weight."

The nurse set Beth up in a room and took a set of vitals. After getting all the preliminary information, she left them alone as they waited for the maternal-fetal specialist to come in.

Beth was sitting on the table in a gown, Daryl standing by her side. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, just nervous. You?"

Daryl scoffed. "Are you kidding? I'm scared as hell." His initial reaction to her news might not have been ideal, but in the last couple days, they had been able to talk a little more. He had been supportive, and they both decided it was best to wait and see what they found out at the appointment.

Their brief conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by perinatologist entering. She was a taller women with gray hair that was cropped short. She had a smile on her face and when she spoke, her voice was soothing. "Hi Mrs. Dixon, I'm Dr. Peletier. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand for Beth to shake.

"Call me Beth, please." Beth reached out and shook her hand. "This is my husband, Daryl." Daryl nodded at the doctor.

After all the pleasantries were exchanged, Dr. Peletier began going over Beth's history. "So it says here you had a placental abruption, caused by trauma, that resulted in a perinatal death."

Beth nodded, trying to keep the tears from pooling in her eyes. "Yes, so I'm pretty concerned about how all this is going to go."

"Well try not to worry, I'm sure we can take care of you." The doctors words were reassuring, making Beth feel comfortable with her decision to come to this specific office. "You took a pregnancy test..." she flipped through a couple pages in the chart "two days ago."

"Yeah, and I took a couple more to be sure."

The doctor nodded. "Okay, and you said you weren't really sure on when your last period was, but the last one that you know of was on March 20th?"

Beth sighed. "As far as I can remember." The last few months had been so crazy that she really hadn't noticed not getting her period. It made her feel foolish, wondering how she could miss such a thing. She also wondered why she didn't clue in to the fact that the 'bloating' in her stomach had only continued to get worse, making it pop out and look slightly round.

"Alrighty, well let's do an ultrasound to check everything out. Sound good?"

Beth nodded again. She hated this part. She wasn't sure exactly how far along she was, so they would be doing a vaginal ultrasound and she was not looking forward to it. With her last pregnancy, it had been very uncomfortable, and it was looking to be even more uncomfortable this time because Daryl was present.

When the probe was inserted, Beth winced and grabbed Daryl's hand. In the clinical environment, the pressure was anything but pleasant. She kept her eyes closed and his fingers wrapped tightly in Daryl's. When it was finally in place, Beth's breath stopped. The sound coming from the machine was amazing. She could hear her little baby's heartbeat perfectly, fast and strong. She opened her eyes and saw Dr. Peletier smiling at her. The older woman brought her hand up to the monitor and Beth's eyes drifted over to take in the image. It wasn't just some little blob she could barely make out, instead it was a baby. Her hand flew to her mouth and a couple tears escaped her eyes. She glanced over at Daryl and saw that he was staring at the screen, his mouth slightly open.

Beth took a deep breath to try and compose herself. She was waiting for the information from Dr. Peletier that would tell her whether or not the baby was Daryl's. "Can you tell how far along?"

The doctor nodded and looked away from the monitor towards Beth and Daryl. "Right now, the baby is perfectly healthy. It's measuring around 16 weeks, which matches up with the date of your last period. Date of conception was most likely sometime within the first few days of April."

Beth let out a huge breath and started crying once again. This time she couldn't even blame the tears on the hormones, instead it was pure relief. Her and Zach hadn't been intimate since the middle of March. When she looked over at Daryl, he immediately leaned in the kiss her. He put his head against hers, closing his eyes and using his free hand to reach up and touch the back of her head. Not only did Beth feel a million times better, but she could have sworn she actually felt the tension leave Daryl's body.

Beth pecked him on the lips once more before turning her attention back to the doctor. Dr. Peletier printed them a couple copies of the image and removed the probe from Beth. "So, everything looks great for now. I do want you to be aware that there is a ten percent risk of having a placental abruption again. It is hard to avoid it, usually it just happens, but just be cautious. Always wear a seatbelt, no smoking, no drugs, basically just use your common sense. You should also know that I strongly recommend a c-section as a vaginal birth is just too risky with your history."

Beth was nodding along listening to what the doctor had to say. Now that she knew that the baby was indeed Daryl's, she felt a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, but she knew she wasn't out of the woods yet. There were still complications to worry about.

"I want to see you back here every two weeks and then once you reach twenty four weeks, I'd like to see you every week."

Once the appointment was all said and done, Beth and Daryl left the office and were walking out to their cars, each of them now holding a copy of the ultrasound. Daryl went with Beth to wear her car was parked and when they reached it, she turned around to say goodbye. She was surprised when as soon as she turned, Daryl wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up off the floor, passionately kissing her.

Beth giggled as he set her down and her heart started pounding as Daryl whispered in her ear. "I love you." He was confident when he said it, sounding truly happy for the first time in a while. She pulled his face back to hers and planted her mouth on his. When they separated, Beth whispered against his lips "I love you too."

**Ohh hope you liked it! Next chapter will be up soon. Please feel free to review ;)**

 


	15. Chapter 15

**New chapter for you guys! Hope you enjoy!**

"I don't want you workin' there anymore, Beth. It ain't right...pregnant woman workin' in a bar." It was only a day after the ultrasound appointment and Daryl had already brought up this subject about ninety nine. This time, in their bedroom with Beth getting ready for work, would be the one hundredth time.

Beth sighed as she pulled on her jeans. "I know Daryl, but I'm not just going to bail on Jake. I'm going to finish out this weekend. It's only three days."

"Three days too many." Daryl replied as he turned around to put some of the laundry away. Beth huffed out in frustration which made Daryl turn around to look at her. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry."

Beth shook her head at him. "No it's not that..." She reached down and tried to do the button on her jeans, failing miserably with her 'bloated' stomach in the way. Suddenly there were tears in her eyes and her lip started to quiver. _'Shit'_ Daryl thought to himself. "I don't fit in anything! It's just like BOOM! Overnight and I'm fat!" He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, knowing very well she wasn't even close to being overweight.

He set down the folded clothes on top of the bed and wrapped his arms around her, which apparently sent Beth over the edge and now she was full on sobbing, tears and snot running down her face. He had experienced this last time she was pregnant, and he felt like he knew how to handle mood swings pretty well. Simply put, his method involved a lot of reassurance. "You're not fat, Beth...you got a baby growin' in there. That there's a big difference."

Beth nodded, still crying her eyes out while Daryl hugged her and rubbed soothing circles over her back. "I know! But it's not fair! Why do I have to look like an elephant while you get to look like _that_?"

Daryl smirked, pressing his face against the top of her head, making his words come out mumbled. "I guess it's cause guys aren't that special. Women do all the important things."

Beth nodded once again, her breathing evening out. "Yeah."

Daryl gently pushed Beth away from him, enough to get his hands from her back to her cheeks, wiping away the tears with his thumbs. "Now, this ain't new. You been sayin' for weeks that your clothes ain't fittin' right so why don't ya pick out a pair that still works?" Beth nodded reluctantly. "Good, now get ready so that you'll be one day closer to being done at the bar." She smacked him on the chest and went back to her clothes to search for pants that fit while Daryl was left rubbing the now sore spot over his sternum. He always forgot how strong that girl was when she wanted to be.

Only halfway through her shift Beth was ready to lie down on top of the bar and take a nap. To make matters worse, the bar was once again packed with college kids who had absolutely no manners or respect. Her mood picked up a little when she saw Daryl walk into the bar with a couple friends from work. He smiled at her and Beth waved back at him as him and his friends found themselves a table near the back. She knew they would be ordering a round, so Beth just prepared a pitcher and grabbed a few glasses. Just as she was about to deliver the drinks, Jake yelled at her from the other end of the bar. "Beth! Table 8!"

She sighed but made her way over to the obnoxious table, knowing Daryl and his friends wouldn't mind waiting a few minutes. She fought the urge to roll her eyes when the rowdy frat boys whistled at her as she approached. "You needin' anything else?"

"We could use a couple more beers, sweetheart." Internally, Beth gagged.

"Comin' right up." Her voice was not as nearly as perky as usual, not caring about her manners or getting a good tip. She was just done with the whole night in general.

She was making her way back to the bar when she turned her head back to look at Daryl's table, but ended up catching the eyes of one of the frat boys following directly behind her. She got to the countertop and asked Jake to grab a few bottles when she felt the guy slip in next to her, one hand resting around her, effectively trapping her to the bar. Beth reached behind her, pushing his hand away from her body. "You ever hear of a little thing called personal space?"

Frat boy laughed. "Guess I just can't keep my hands to myself around a pretty girl."

Beth hummed in response, not really believing that guys used these lines. What was even more ridiculous was that they probably occasionally worked. Jake came back, dropping the beers off for Beth to go deliver. She grabbed them off the counter, turning around, but once again frat boy was there, now blocking her from walking away. "You don't have to play so hard to get, you know." He reached up to brush a strand of hair out of her face.

The action startled Beth, who was now feeling painfully uncomfortable. She knocked his hand away, making some of the frothy liquid spill from her bottle onto her shirt. "Don't touch me." The words came out shakier than she intended.

Jake, the angel that he was, must have seen the exchange going on, as he appeared next to her. "I think you need to step back, cool off for a minute. You're makin' my waitress uncomfortable."

Frat boy's eyes never left Beth as he responded. "Nah, man. We're just having a good time."

"No, _man,_ you're out of line." Jake reached out, putting his hand on the guy's shoulder, gentled shoving him away from Beth.

This apparently set frat guy off as he did step away from Beth only enough to shove Jake hard in the chest, making him stumble backwards. "Why don't you just stay out of it?" His voice had risen up a level or two.

Jake reached out to shove him back. "Don't fuckin' touch me!"

The shoving was escalating, turning into some hard headed male pissing match. The surrounded people had backed up, making a small circle around the three. "I'll do whatever the hell I want!" God, she should have stopped serving them a long time ago if this was really how intoxicated he was.

"Yeah like harass women who don't want nothin' to do with you?"

"Bitch was practically askin' for it!" This obviously didn't sit well with Jake, who charged at frat boy, throwing a swing. The guy dodged it surprisingly well for being drunk, catching Jake around the head and putting him in a headlock. The bartender quickly got out of it, shoving back against the frat boy once again.

Beth stepped forward, trying to pull the guys apart. Not one of her smarter moments. The frat guy pushed her away, her back slamming into the back of the bar, hard. She winced, rubbing at the spot where a bruise would form later. As she looked back up at the two men, she noticed Daryl was now there. He grabbed frat boy by the shoulder, spinning him around and let his fist fly. He landed a punch in the dead center on his face.

Frat boy immediately cupped his nose, trying to contain the blood now gushing from it, while Daryl grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, getting right in his face to yell. "You EVER fuckin' touch my wife again, you'll be breathin' through a tube!" Frat boy looked like he was about to piss his pants. Beth almost wanted to giggle. "You fuckin' got that?" He nodded and so Daryl released him roughly, making the guy fall back on his ass.

Jake dragged him up off the floor and pulled him away, no doubt to kick the guy out. Daryl was at Beth's side in a second, putting his hand on her hip. "Jesus, I can't leave you alone for a second. You okay?"

Beth rubbed at her back again. "Yeah, just gonna have a pretty awesome bruise later." She smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

Daryl didn't seem to appreciate your humor. "We should get you to the hospital, get ya checked out." He was obviously slightly panicking.

Beth put her hands on his chest, trying to calm him down. "No, I don't need to go to the hospital. I'm fine, really."

Daryl lifted a hand on her cheek, his thumb caressing her flushed skin. "At least come home. I told you I didn't want ya workin' here no more. That coulda turned out real bad."

Beth sighed, understanding where he was coming from. "I can't just leave Jake here alone to handle all this."

Jake who had returned from getting rid of frat boy, overheard what she had just said. "Yes, you can. Go on home, get some rest. And you ain't gotta worry about finishin' out the weekend either."

Daryl's eyes were appreciative as he looked at the bartender. Beth too was grateful, but she also felt terrible for abandoning her boss. "Jake...I appreciate the offer but I wouldn't feel right."

Jake laughed at her. "Oh come on Beth. Ain't nothin' I can't handle. Not get on home before I actually have to fire ya."

Beth looked between them. "Well if you put it that way, I guess I don't have a choice."

Jake smiled, pulling her in for a hug, strategically avoiding her lower back. "Now you guys git."

Daryl waved bye to his friends across the room before grabbing Beth's hand and pulling her out behind him. Luckily she had her phone and keys in her pocket, having left her bag at home, because she was sure he wasn't even going to let her stop to grab her things if they had been there. He walked them over to his truck, mumbling something about getting her car tomorrow, before opening up the door and helping her inside. Daryl held her hand tight the whole way home.

**I definitely love some protective Daryl, I hope you guys do too!**

**Appreciate all the reviews you guys have been leaving, it REALLY makes my day!**

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Another somewhat filler chapter, setting up for future chapters, but with smut!**

After an uneventful weekend that mostly consisted of Beth deep cleaning the entire house, while Daryl worked for her daddy at the farm, Monday had finally come. Daryl had left for work long before Beth had gotten up. When she finally dragged herself out of bed, she pulled on a simple dress with an a-line cut to try and hide her little bump. Today her plan was to go out and find a day job, one more suitable for a woman with child in Daryl's opinion. Beth could admit he did kind of have a point, that bar could get pretty wild some nights and the last thing either of them wanted or needed was for something to happen to this baby.

She slid her hands down over her still small but now round belly as she walked through the house into the kitchen to get some breakfast. She pulled out the colorful sugar packed cereal, the kind that Daryl always teased her about, saying that her age was showing, and poured herself a bowl. Grabbing the milk from the refrigerator, she opened it and took a whiff, making sure it hadn't gone bad. Deciding it was fine, she filled her bowl until it was almost overflowing. She always loved drinking the milk from the bowl after all the cereal was gone, especially with the sugary taste it acquired.

She grabbed her bowl and spoon, making her way over to the couch where she took a seat and grabbed the remote to flip the television on. Settling on a channel currently playing some soap opera, Beth began to eat. She tuned out, no longer paying attention to the show, trying to think of places she could go look for employment. The last time she had gone job hunting, she only ended up at Jake's as a last resort. She knew she had to be much more creative this time, which was difficult, with her not having many marketable skills. Figuring she would just have to pound the pavement, she finished up her breakfast, draining the milk from the bowl before getting up, turning the tv off, and placing her dirty dishes in the sink to be handled later.

Grabbing her keys, she went out to her car and got in. As she started the engine, she made a mental note to clean out all the trash later, as her floorboards were littered with coffee cups, receipts, and discarded sweaters. She began to drive around town, stopping in to fill out applications at any place that looked even somewhat promising, including, but not limited to, grocery stores, coffee shops, fast food establishments, and the movie theatre. It was slightly embarrassing for a twenty five year old to be applying for jobs that were usually reserved for teenagers, but she was desperate, and she would take anything she could get.

She was just thinking about heading home for the day when a building caught her eye. It was familiar to her, and she recognized it as Dr. Horvath's office, the town's general practitioner. Beth had seen him a few times for the occasional infection or minor injury and knew the older man was friendly with her father. She thought that maybe he might need someone for something. Beth pulled into the small parking lot and turned off the vehicle. Stepping inside, she was immediately hit with a gust of cold air, making her shiver. A middle aged blonde woman dressed in scrubs peaked around the front desk with a smile on her face. "Hi! Do you have an appointment?"

Beth shook her head. "No..." She walked forwards so she didn't have to continue talking from the front door. "I'm Beth Greene. I was wondering if Dr. Horvath might be looking to hire anyone for some help around the practice."

The woman threw her hands up in the air and looked towards the sky. "Yes!" Beth was slightly confused by her reaction. "He is absolutely looking for someone. We need someone to work the front desk...I'm a nurse, and I have no idea how to do any of this." She gestured to the piles of folders and scattered papers covering the tabletop. "Oh god, I'm being rude, aren't I?" Beth tried to shake her head but the nurse continued to ramble. "I'm Andrea, nice to meet you." She walked around the desk, holding her hand out for Beth to shake.

After pleasantries were exchanged, Beth went on about the job. "So do you need me to fill out an application?"

Andrea shook her head. "Oh, no that's not necessary! Do you have any experience?"

Beth shook her head. "Not really...mostly waitressing."

Andrea waved her hands in the air. "That's not a problem! I promise! Can you start tomorrow?"

Beth's eyes widened, this was not what she expected. "Your serious? You don't even need to talk to Dr. Horvath?"

Andrea scoffed, clearly amused by Beth's question. "He'll have no problem with me hiring you, if he doesn't want me to quit. I did not sign on for desk duty."

Beth thought it was odd, but she was pleased nonetheless. "Okay, thanks! I'll see you tomorrow then. What time?"

"We open up at ten. Why don't you show up around then? I can attempt to explain how some of this works."

Beth nodded, a huge smile on her face. The day had gone much better than she had planned. "Great! I'll see you in the morning then. Thanks so much, Andrea!" Beth waved as she exited, with Andrea waving back.

When she got home, she was surprised that Daryl was already off work, head peeking inside of the refrigerator looking for something to eat. "Hi hon!" Daryl turned around, shutting the door to the ice box.

His eyebrows went up, questioning the good mood. He knew she was going to be looking for a job today and he had planned on coming home and carefully avoiding the sullen woman. Instead, she came prancing in, ridiculous smile on her face and her voice particularly perky. "So the job hunt went well?"

Beth had that innocent look in her eyes. "However could you tell?" She reached him, pecking him on the lips. "I got a job at Dr. Horvath's office!"

"That ancient doctor?" Daryl snorted.

His wife swatted at his arm. "He's not ancient! He's daddy's age. And he's a very nice man. The nurse that worked there hired me on the spot! I start tomorrow!"

Daryl gathered her up in his arms, Beth throwing her arms around him as he lifted her off the ground. "Then I guess we gotta celebrate, huh?"

"Oh? What did you have in mind?"

Daryl ended up taking Beth out to one of the restaurants in the next town over, a nice sit down italian place. They were seated quickly, the place not being very busy on a Monday night. They ordered sodas and browsed the menu, deciding on what sounded the best. It was hard for Beth who thought everything looked delicious, which wasn't saying much because at this point she was so hungry she would have eaten almost anything.

Dinner was uneventful, filling the time with idle chat about their days and such. However, when the plates had been cleared and the check had been paid, Daryl reached across the table wipe some pasta sauce off of her lips, she noticed his bicep clench underneath his t shirt. Such a simple action could provoke such dirty thoughts inside of Beth. She looked him straight in the eye as she spoke very clearly. "I want you."

Daryl quirked one of his brows. "We best git goin' then."

She shook her head, a devilish smile gracing her lips. "I can't wait. I'll meet you in the bathroom in two minutes. Go!" Daryl wasn't even able to get a word out as she shooed him away. Damn pregnancy hormones might be good for something.

He made his way into the men's room, thankful to find it unoccupied. He tapped his foot with his hands on his hips as he waited for her. Apparently she was even more impatient than she had let on, because two minutes had definitely not passed when Beth burst in. Daryl immediately grabbed her by the shoulders and steered her further into the room. It was a very hot thought, knowing they could be caught at any moment.

Daryl shoved her into the stall, Beth giggling as she put her hands out to steady herself. "Careful!" She whispered. Daryl just shut the door and locked behind him, a wicked smirk on his face. Immediately he was on her, his lips claiming hers. Beth's hands went to his shirt, hands quickly undoing the buttons. She slid her hands into his shirt, nails scraping across his chest as they made their way to his back, digging into the scarred flesh. His hands went to the hem of her dress, thankful for the quick access. He yanked it up roughly, making a chill run up Beth's spine. She moaned loudly, as his finger traced her now dripping slit through her panties. He shushed her, not wanting the whole damn restaurant to hear them. He pushed the offensive fabric to the side, letting his hands gently brush against her lips. Beth whimpered when she no longer felt his touch, but was then pleasantly surprised when the contact returned as he shoved two fingers inside of her, making her bite her lip to keep from screaming as she clamped down on him.

Daryl leaned in, putting his mouth close to her ear. "I love it when you're all ready for me baby girl." Hearing that damn nickname coming from his mouth made Beth even wetter. "You're so dirty, ain't ya? Practically begging me to fuck you here, in the bathroom of a restaurant." Beth moaned again, this time keeping the level low, as she nodded in agreement. "You're my little slut, huh?" She whined as he slowed the movements of his fingers, grinding her core against his hand. "See? Beggin' for it." She could care less what he said at this point as he inserted another finger, using his strength to thrust them up inside of her at an almost alarming rate.

Only when she fell apart around him did Daryl stop his movements, the muscle in his forearm now aching from the repetitive motions. "You want me to fuck you now, baby girl?" Energy drained from her body, Beth managed another nod. Apparently she was no longer able to form words. She pushed off her underwear, kicking them to the side on the dirty bathroom floor. Daryl undid his pants, pulling his stiff cock out, fisting it a couple times before reaching down and grabbing Beth underneath her thighs. He hoisted her up and stepped forward until he was standing over the toilet, so that Beth could lean back against the wall, providing the space between them that her growing bump would need. "You might wanna hang on." She did as she was told, her hands reaching out for the walls of the stall, gripping on for dear life as Daryl aligned the weeping head of his dick up with her entrance, once again giving her no warning before she thrusted inside. Beth could taste the copper in her mouth, as she bit her lip so hard she drew blood, as it took everything she had to keep from screaming his name at the top of her lungs.

Daryl found himself biting his own lip, clearly enjoying the feeling of her tight pussy already contracting around him as he stretched her. He could feel her heels digging into his ass, holding him in place with all her might. Finally, when she felt like she could accommodate him, her leg grip slackened. Daryl took this as an opportunity to move, so he pulled out of her almost completely before slamming back inside. "FUCK!" Beth couldn't stop the expletive from escaping her lips. He repeated this movement, as slow and calculating as it was brutal. "Please..."

"Please what?" Daryl knew what she was asking, but wasn't going to pass up the chance to hear her say it.

"Please, fuck me harder. Faster." This woman was made for him.

He picked up the pace, pushing into her just as hard, hitting that sweet spot inside of her with each ruthless thrust. She sprung up and down, the action making Daryl remove one hand from her thighs, temporarily stopping his assault on her genitals, to reach up and pull the top of her dress down, exposing her perky breasts. He gave one a pinch before returning to the task at hand, setting the pace once more. He was mesmerized by her bouncing tits, his eyes never leaving them, as he moved his hips underneath her for support, freeing up his right hand completely to start rubbing her clit.

This was all it took for Beth succumb to pleasure for the second time. This time there was no holding in her cries as she came yelling Daryl's name. He was sure the entire dining establishment heard it, but there was no going back now. Her body went limp, no longer helping support herself so Daryl placed his hand back underneath her. With a few more thrusts, he spilled himself inside of her. Slowly releasing her legs so that she two was straddling the toilet, and now a good deal shorter than him, he leaned down to rest his head on her shoulder, panting heavily. He heard Beth's own heavy breathing in his ear as he tried not to collapse. "That. Was. Amazing."

Daryl snorted. "Yeah well, I aim to please." He pushed on the wall, propelling his body back so he could reach down to pull up his pants. He grabbed Beth's underwear from the floor, stuffing it into his pocket for them to wash later, knowing she definitely wasn't going to put them back on.

Beth had arranged her clothes as well, so they both exited the bathroom with her patting her hair down. Many pairs of eyes were on them as they walked out, Beth kept her eyes on the ground while Daryl wore a smug smirk. Once outside they both began laughing almost hysterically. "I don't think we'll be welcome back here again." Beth managed to squeak out in between giggles.

"Shit, it was worth it." Daryl wouldn't even have been able wipe the smile off his face if he had tried.

**Hope you enjoyed, I know the girls in the Bethyl ghost chat did ;)**

**Reviews are the best...seriously.**


	17. Chapter 17

Beth hadn't had a clue what to wear for her first day at Dr. Horvath's office. On one hand it was a casual environment, but on the other it was still an office, so she wondered if she should choose a more professional looking outfit. She didn't have many options when it came to business wear so she settled on a simple somewhat loose blue dress with a cream colored cardigan. She smoothed the fabric over her belly, the baby bump seemingly growing everyday. Beth just hoped it wouldn't be too obvious...if you didn't look that hard, she just looked like she had put on a few pounds. She sighed and hurried to finish getting ready, not wanting to be late and make a bad impression.

The drive to the office was short, Beth thankful for living in a small town as it seemed she never really hit traffic unless there was some big festival going on. Pulling in to the parking lot, she couldn't help but smile. Even though this job was not one that many would aspire to do, Beth was excited because it was certainly a step up in her eyes. Pregnant woman working in a bar...Daryl had been right, as much as she had loved it, that job just hadn't been meant to be.

Glancing at the time on her cell phone as she walked up to the door, Beth saw had made it with a couple minutes to spare. Even though it was technically before business hours, the door was unlocked, allowing Beth to pull it open and step inside. She didn't see anyone in the immediate vicinity but as she took a couple steps towards the front desk, Andrea appeared out of the back. "Beth! You came!"

Beth chuckled at the frazzled woman's reaction. "Of course, why wouldn't I?"

Andrea waved her hand at her, smiling. "No reason, I just had this irrational fear I would be left to man the desk again."

Beth laughed at Andrea's apparent desperation. "Well, I'm here. Do you wanna show me how everything works?" She gestured towards the cluttered desk on top of which sat an ancient computer along with stacks of files.

Andrea nodded. "As much as I can. Like I said before, even I don't know how to manage all of this. I hope you're organized, because I'm not and that's how I was able to get it looking like this." Beth was organized, for which she was grateful. Staring at the mess, she had the sudden urge just to start cleaning it all up.

Andrea showed Beth the basics on how to check a patient in, how to look up their records, start a new file, verify insurance information, and the rules on private patient information. By the time they were done it was well after eleven. "Don't you guys have any appointments?" Beth questioned.

"We're not all that busy, especially in the mornings. Just wait, everyone wants to come in when it's time for us to go to lunch. By the way, here is the appointment log." Andrea pulled up a program on the slow computer and showed her how to add new appointments.

After her crash course in being a medical receptionist, Beth took a deep breath as Andrea left her to her own devices. "I'm going to clean the exam rooms. If you get stuck on something...just improvise." She shrugged before continuing down the narrow hall, clearly happy to be done with the desk job.

Beth began her attempt in trying to find some sort of system for the files on the desk and the ones on the shelves behind her. She figured they were supposed to be in alphabetical order, but in reality they were just shoved wherever they could fit. About ten minutes into the work, Dr. Horvath made an appearance, emerging from his office. "Bethany Greene! How long has it been since I've seen you? Must be years!"

Beth smiled at the kind older man. "Dr. Horvath! It's so good to see you!"

The doctor put a hand on her shoulder. "Call me Dale, dear. I'm so glad that you're the one that Andrea hired. I'm glad to have you aboard."

"I just really appreciate the opportunity!" And she did, truly grateful that she had been able to find a more appropriate position working with such friendly people.

"I think you'll enjoy it here." Beth nodded in response. "Would you be able to check for me when my next appointment is?"

She searched the computer, tapping her finger on the desk as she waited for it to load. With a few clicks of the mouse, Beth had pulled up the log for today. "Um, at noon you have a Betsy Goodman scheduled."

Dale hummed. "Ah yes, we'll have to wait and see what the problem is today. She's a bit of a hypochondriac, she has a new rare life threatening disease at least once a month." Beth chuckled, knowing he was making the statement in good fun. He really was polite with everyone, not often finding someone he had much of a problem with. "I'll just be in my office, will you let me know when she's arrived?"

"Of course, Dale." She smiled at him and he left the office area. Alone once again, Beth glanced at the open log and indeed saw it was the only appointment scheduled for before lunch time. When twelve o clock rolled around, a skinny woman who looked to be in her late sixties or early seventies, with bright red hair and lipstick, walked into the building and approached Beth.

"Who are you?" The older woman looked suspicious, narrowing her eyes at the new blonde behind the desk.

"My name is Beth. I'm the new receptionist." She smiled, trying to come off as friendly but the woman was not taking the bait.

"Where's Andrea? She's always here. I need to see Andrea." Obviously this woman had a legitimate problem with paranoia.

Beth hated to bother Andrea for such a silly thing, so she tried to reason with her. "Um Andrea's a little busy right now, but I would be happy to help you get all checked in. May I have your name?"

"No you may not! You can go get Andrea for me!" This woman was getting on Beth's nerves already, and she was starting to cause a scene.

"Alright! Just give me one minute to go get her." The woman just continued to glare at her, crossing her arms over her chest, and impatiently tapping her foot.

Beth walked down the hall, finding Andrea in the second, smaller exam room, wiping down the vinyl table. "Andrea? There's this woman up front, I'm pretty sure it's Mrs. Goodman, and she's throwing a fit wanting to talk to you. Apparently she doesn't like me much. Could you come help out for a second?"

Andrea sighed, sounding slightly annoyed. "That woman, I swear...she needs professional help, not the medical kind...the psychological kind." Beth was quickly catching on to just how sassy Andrea could be, and she found she didn't really mind. The nurse pushed past Beth out of the room and made her way out to the still sour looking red head. "Mrs. Goodman! What ever is the problem?" Andrea's tone was mostly sugary sweet, but it was definitely laced with some sarcasm.

"This new girl. I don't like her!" Beth's eyes widened, she was not used to this sort of treatment when she hadn't done anything to deserve it.

Andrea sighed and leaned over the desks, her palms flat on the surface. "I can assure you, I've expertly trained Beth," the younger woman couldn't hold in the snort that escaped her mouth but it didn't make Andrea miss a beat "and I know she'll take real good care of you from now on. All she's going to be doing is checking you in and having you fill out some paper work occasionally, Dr. Horvath and I will still be dealing with any of your health care needs."

Betsy still looked skeptical of Beth but nodded at hearing Andrea's words. "If you say so, then I guess I'll just have to deal with it."

Andrea smiled, "Thanks so much for being so understanding. I'll go let Dr. Horvath know you're here. Beth's going to give you a couple forms to fill out." Beth nodded and gathered up a couple pieces of papers and placed them on a clipboard before handing it over to Mrs. Goodman along with a pen.The women quickly scribbled down the information and Beth knew she would have trouble reading the woman's hand writing, but she figured that would be the case from now on with most patients.

When the paperwork was all filled out, Andrea came out and told Mrs. Goodman that she could come on back. Beth was thankful when the lady disappeared into a room with Andrea, as she had been getting pretty uncomfotable under the woman's cold stare. Continuing with her organizational work, she began to notice just how fast the time seemed to fly by while she was here. Before she knew it, Mrs. Goodman was exiting, Dr. Horvath walking with her, speaking in reassurances. "Yes, Betsy, I'm positive it's not flesh eating bacteria." Andrea was trailing behind them, rolling her eyes, while Beth stifled a laugh at hearing the words.

Finally getting Mrs. Goodman out of the small clinic, Andrea turned to Beth with her hands on her hips. "Ready for lunch?"

Beth nodded, not realizing how hungry she actually was until Andrea brought up the meal. She leaned over and rummaged through her bag for a second, pulling out a brown paper sack that held her peanut butter and jelly sandwich inside. "No way, you're coming with me. I know where we can get the best split pea soup in town."

Beth blushed, fumbling over her words as she replied. "Oh no, I really shouldn't. We're tryin' to save some money right now."

"For the baby?" Beth's eyes bulged. She looked down at her stomach briefly. She thought she had been hiding it fairly well. "Unless you swallowed a cantaloupe whole, I just assumed..."

Beth chuckled and looked up at the nurse. "It's alright. Yeah, for the baby." She wasn't sure how well she would take it. Pregnant women weren't exactly new hire jackpot.

"Well good thing it's might treat then." Andrea winked and grabbed her purse, waiting for Beth to follow. She felt the tension leave her body and was grateful it didn't seem to be a huge deal.

The best place in town to get split pea soup looked to be someone's dining room, where they had shoved a few chairs too many and a cash register, but Beth found she quite liked it. She knew she definitely loved it when the soup arrived and they dug in. They kept a steady conversation going, as much as they could as they devoured the food. When the conversation turned to all things baby, Beth felt on edge. "So is this your first?"

The spoon almost dropped from her hands at the question, such a simple one to someone unknowing. "No."

Sensing the tone, Andrea stuttered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean... I mean...I didn't...Ugh sorry, sometimes I'm just nosy I guess."

"It's a normal question, Andrea. You had no way of knowing. It's alright to ask questions, it's just what people do."

After the slightly awkward encounter, they returned to work in lower spirits than when they had left. Andrea felt like a bitch and Beth just felt plain old depressed. Arriving back at home, she found Daryl was already there with his dirty boots propped up on the coffee table. When he saw her face, he jumped up and rushed towards her. "What's wrong? You didn't get fired already, did you?" He immediately felt like an ass for making such a ill timed joke when Beth burst into tears. He wasn't sure what had upset her, or if there was anything at all, wondering if this was just another dose of pregnancy hormones.

Clinging to him, she fisted her hands into his shirt, and sobbed. Daryl could do nothing but hold her close, stroking her hair. He finally understood, no explanation necessary, what was wrong when she spoke. "I miss him so much, Daryl. How do you miss something you never really even had?" And to that, Daryl didn't know the answer. It was something he asked himself almost every day.

**So there's the next chapter, kind of just moving things along, preparing for some minor time jumps. If anyone is still reading, as I have been absent from this story for far too long, I'd appreciate any feedback. Love you guys.**

 


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